eprintid: 10205239
rev_number: 9
eprint_status: archive
userid: 699
dir: disk0/10/20/52/39
datestamp: 2025-02-25 08:34:07
lastmod: 2025-02-25 08:34:07
status_changed: 2025-02-25 08:34:07
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
sword_depositor: 699
creators_name: Cavaliere, Giulia
creators_name: Fletcher, James Rupert
title: Age-discriminated IVF Access and Evidence-based Ageism: Is There a Better Way?
ispublished: pub
divisions: UCL
divisions: B03
divisions: C01
divisions: F16
keywords: fertility, reproduction, gerontology, assisted conception,
epidemiology, ageing
note: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
abstract: Access to state-funded fertility treatments is age-restricted in many countries based on epidemiological evidence showing age-associated fertility decline and aimed at administering scarce resources. In this article, we consider whether age-related restrictions can be considered ageist and what this entails for a normative appraisal of access criteria. We use the UK as a case study due to the state-funded and centrally regulated nature of in vitro fertilization (IVF) provision. We begin by reviewing concepts of ageism and age discrimination in gerontological scholarship and contend that it is analytically useful to differentiate between them when considering age-restricted health services. We then argue that criteria to access IVF could be considered indirectly ageist so far as they rely on an age-related evidence base that manifests ageist categorizations of persons. Lastly, we examine whether there could be more normatively desirable alternatives to devise criteria to access fertility treatment, considering “lifestyle” as a potential candidate. We conclude, however, that lifestyle-based discrimination is problematic because, unlike age-based discrimination, it risks exacerbating existing socioeconomic and ethnic inequalities.
date: 2022-09
date_type: published
publisher: SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC
official_url: https://doi.org/10.1177/01622439211021914
oa_status: green
full_text_type: pub
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 2310232
doi: 10.1177/01622439211021914
lyricists_name: Cavaliere, Giulia
lyricists_id: GCAVA29
actors_name: Cavaliere, Giulia
actors_id: GCAVA29
actors_role: owner
full_text_status: public
publication: Science, Technology, & Human Values
volume: 47
number: 5
pagerange: 986-1010
pages: 25
issn: 0162-2439
citation:        Cavaliere, Giulia;    Fletcher, James Rupert;      (2022)    Age-discriminated IVF Access and Evidence-based Ageism: Is There a Better Way?                   Science, Technology, & Human Values , 47  (5)   pp. 986-1010.    10.1177/01622439211021914 <https://doi.org/10.1177/01622439211021914>.       Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10205239/1/Cavaliere_cavaliere-fletcher-2021-age-discriminated-ivf-access-and-evidence-based-ageism-is-there-a-better-way.pdf