Dutch MPs back plan making IVF available to 50-year-old women

Most Dutch parliamentarians support a plan to increase the maximum age for IVF treatments from 43 years to 50 years. Only the small Christian parties are still objecting, Trouw reports. 

The maximum age for IVF treatment in the Netherlands is currently 43 years old. But according to Minister Edith Schippers of Public Health, doctors believe that IVF is possible up to the age of 50 without taking irresponsible medical risks. Fifty is also the age in the new doctor's guideline.

The PvdA and GroenLinks are in favor or increasing the maximum age. They are pleased that older women no longer have to go abroad in an effort to have a child. PvdA parliamentarian Agnes Wolbert also points out that the Dutch life expectancy is increasing. "We are simply getting older.

Christian party SGP is not against IVF itself, but is against increasing the maximum age. The party believes the maximum age should stay close to the natural boundary for pregnancy, as it also is for adoption. SGP leader Kees van der Staaij also wonders whether it is in the best interest of a child to have an older mother. "What would it be like for a teenager to have a mother behind a walker?" he asked.