ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

Victoria resident Iliffe and wife Sheena McConnell have two girls, aged four and one, both conceived as a result of IVF.

He says they had a “five-year struggle� to try to start a family naturally, before turning to IVF and raising $17,000 to pay for the first round of treatment.

He says the budget commitment will “save marriages,� and give people the confidence that they can afford to have kids.

The government says the program will cost $68 million over three years, and become available in April 2025.

Similar programs are already available in Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba

“To have government cover that (first cycle) cost … we would have been able to have children way earlier, way sooner, and with way more confidence,� Iliffe said.

He works in the energy industry and attended the budget lockup in Victoria on Thursday as an industry stakeholder, while McConnell is a former press secretary for ex-premier John Horgan.

Iliffe said it was coincidental that he was in attendance when the IVF policy was announced.

He said he and McConnell had “coached� friends and acquaintances through IVF. He said he hoped B.C.’s free IVF plan would relieve the significant “emotional burdens� for others trying to start families.

The commitment to one free cycle of treatment is particularly significant, said Iliffe, because the first cycle is the costliest — he and McConnell’s second cycle cost $2,800.

“So, it cost us about $20,000 for two kids,� he said.

Conroy said in her budget speech Thursday that the IVF plan would be “welcome news for many.�

“Whether it’s a person looking to have a child on their own, people who are experiencing infertility or a same-sex couple who has tried other methods. This will help more people on the path to parenthood,� she said.

Conroy, who has four children and nine grandchildren, said big family dinners and grandparenthood had been a joy to her.

“Everyone who wants to have a child should have the opportunity to do so,� she said.

This report by ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø was first published Feb. 22, 2024.