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Polish president greenlights state funding for IVF

15.12.2023 23:30
Poland’s president has approved a bill to reintroduce state funding for in vitro fertilisation (IVF), his office said on Friday, amid efforts to boost fertility in the country.
Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Polish President Andrzej Duda.Photo: Jakub Szymczuk/KPRP

President Andrzej Duda signed the proposed legislation into effect after it was voted through by parliament, despite an appeal to the contrary from the Catholic Church, state news agency PAP reported.

Leftist parliamentarian Wanda Nowicka estimated last month that some 3 million people in Poland were affected by infertility.

She told parliament during the initial stages of the bill that IVF was an effective fertilisation method and predicted that "in 40 years, over 100,000 children will be born in Poland through IVF."

Lawmaker Agnieszka Pomaska of the liberal Civic Coalition (KO) has said that state funding for IVF will enable more Poles to have children.

Under the new rules, the Polish government will spend at least PLN 500 million (EUR 115 million, USD 125 million) a year on combating infertility, including through IVF, officials have told reporters.

(gs)

Source:  IAR, PAP