The Congress party has included In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) as an area of focus in its manifesto for the Rajasthan Assembly election. Integrating infertility with political agenda is not a new development — Goa recently became the first Indian State to offer free IVF, Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), and Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) services; Maharashtra is also looking into providing financial support to people from rural areas for IVF treatments under the Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana.
Infertility, which is recognised as a public health issue by the World Health Organization (WHO), has often been shrouded in silence. Finding its way into the Congress’ election manifesto has thus sparked a crucial conversation over the financial, societal, and emotional implications of infertility, and the role of politics in addressing it.
A study titled ‘Pattern of health promises for Indian democracy: A qualitative review of political manifestos’ finds that health has been a feature in political agendas but healthcare issues are yet to dominate political campaigns in India as they do in the U.K. and the U.S. “Public health problems, health financing, improving infrastructure are the most common promises that share space in all manifestos of major national parties,” the study noted.
