In Germany, one in six women suffers from infertility, but access to reproductive medicine is severely restricted. Surrogacy and egg donation are banned, forcing many to seek treatment abroad or face financial ruin.

Marriette (name changed), a 36-year-old single woman, was diagnosed with premature ovarian insufficiency after cyst removal surgery. Despite paying health insurance for 18 years, she receives no coverage for fertility treatment because she is unmarried. “It feels very unjust,” she says.

Over two years, Marriette has paid for every injection, ultrasound, and blood test out of pocket. She recalls an anesthesiologist approaching her with a credit card machine while she was in a surgical gown, ready to accept cash. “I can’t believe that’s the reality,” she says.

Working three jobs and enduring multiple failed IVF cycles, Marriette suffered burnout and accumulated €13,000 in debt. “Those last six months basically broke me,” she says. She is now on antidepressants and has launched a crowdfunding campaign, raising over €10,000 for treatment in Denmark.

According to Fertility Europe, Germany has one of the most outdated fertility laws in Europe. Only 3% of babies are born via assisted reproduction, compared to 10% in Denmark. Chair Klaudija Kordic says the system “stops potential parents from having children because they can’t afford it.”

The German government has not announced any plans to reform funding. Legal expert Jochen Taupitz calls the law “archaic” and based on an “outdated image of the family” — the heterosexual married couple. He notes a lack of political will to change the situation.

Marriette is now on a waiting list for a donor egg in Denmark. “I just want the same thing that is afforded to married couples to be afforded to single women,” she says. “Women’s health is always just ignored.”

Source: www.dw.com