NHS group changes same-sex fertility rules after couple’s campaign

Megan Bacon-Evans, left, and wife Whitney, known on social media as Wegan, were ‘horrified’ to learn gay couples don’t have equal access to treatment. Photograph: Can Nguyen/Shutterstock

A married lesbian couple who launched a landmark legal test case against the NHS have claimed a “victory for equality” after their local health service group agreed to change its fertility treatment rules for same-sex couples.

Megan Bacon-Evans, 36, and Whitney Bacon-Evans, 35, have formally withdrawn their case at the high court after NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board (ICB) volunteered to give same-sex female couples the same access to fertility treatment as heterosexual couples, following a two-year review. Their case sparked national debate and led to a significant policy U-turn by the government last year.