A single Scots woman who fled an abusive relationship has opened up on her struggles to have a child after being refused IVF because she is single.
Anne-Marie Morrison went through the heartbreak of having NHS support pulled after she left an abusive relationship before subsequent self-funded trips to a sperm bank ended in bitter disappointment.
The 36-year-old, from Dunbar in East Lothian, is now campaigning to allow access to fertility clinics for single women to become pregnant. As reported by Edinburgh Live, legislation does not currently allow single women entry to publicly run IVF clinics.
Before women can be considered to obtain treatment, they need to be in a relationship for at least three years.
Anne-Marie - who is a student studying psychology and counselling - has been battling with the government for years to fulfil her dream of becoming a parent and she has now launched a petition in the hope fellow single women can become mothers.
Anne-Marie said: "I am absolutely outraged, I can’t believe it and I am deeply hurt. For someone to squash your dreams when they don’t even listen to you and don’t even know who I am.
"They don’t know these millions of other women and they don’t know what we’ve been through. I am always giving gratitude for my life and everything that surrounds us.
"It’s beautiful and I could provide that to someone else. It means everything to me to bring someone into the world that is stunning and experience it with me."
Practising Christian Anne started her baby journey 10 years ago and has suffered setbacks in her quest to become a mum. She was previously offered IVF on the NHS but had the offer rescinded when she ended the abusive relationship.
This led to Anne-Marie saving thousands of pounds of her own money to go to a private sperm bank twice - but sadly both attempts failed. She argues that being forced to be in a relationship “is against her choice” and is “ludicrous.”
She said: “I am able to have relationships, I’ve had them but it’s not what I want for my life, I’m not saying that I wouldn’t have a relationship but all I want in this life is a baby.
“I just haven’t met anyone that I can trust enough at the moment to bring into a baby’s life. I am putting mine and their safety first before anyone else.
“I was with someone who was horrible to me and beating me. I went through women's aid and left this person a long, long time ago and grew these protective skills to know where to spot them if I am ever with someone like that again.
“You deserve the highest level of treatment and I haven’t found that and that’s why I haven’t settled down with someone.”
Anne’s petition has received over 400 signatures but needs 10,000 for it to be considered by the Scottish Government. It can be viewed here.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “While legislation, licensing and regulation of IVF is reserved, delivery is managed by the Scottish Government. We have invested around £40 million over five years to improve IVF waiting times and meet expanded NHS access criteria."
A UK Government Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “To ensure equal access to fertility treatment, we expect local health services in England to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
"As guidelines cover diagnosing and treating fertility problems, they do not cover IVF treatment for single women who do not have a diagnosed fertility problem. NICE is currently reviewing its fertility guidelines and will consider whether the current recommendations for access to NHS-funded treatment are still appropriate. We expect that this review will be published in 2024.”
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