Fertility options - Vulnerable couples must be protected

ONE couple in six is affected by it yet it remains one of the last taboos.

Infertility has made it impossible for significant numbers of Irish people to have children naturally. Yet, there are options and 2% of all births in Ireland – about 1,000 babies a year – are born after fertility treatment.

These children represent a great victory, a wonderful dream realised, for the couples involved but thousands more are not so lucky. Tens of thousands are left to consider their childlessness for the rest of their lives, persecuting themselves with unanswerable questions. It can very often be a destructive and divisive experience.