Same sex couple puzzled by fertility tax credit that doesn’t cover sperm

CTV News’ Allison Bamford reports on the Saskatchewan fertility treatment tax credit that some say puts same-sex couples at a disadvantage.

A same-sex couple in Saskatchewan who is considering options to have a baby was disappointed to learn a provincial fertility tax credit doesn’t cover one key ingredient: sperm.

Saskatchewan introduced the Fertility Treatment Tax Credit (FTTC) last year – a 50 per cent refundable tax credit for eligible treatments, prescription drugs and other fertility expenses.

“I was really excited to see that the tax credit was going to help some families,” said Brit Sippola, who is considering fertility treatments with her fiancée. “It was really unfortunate that they don’t cover our single biggest cost, which is the sperm.

The tax credit excludes the purchase of eggs or sperm outside of Saskatchewan – a moot point, advocates say, as there are no sperm banks in the province and federal laws make it illegal to pay a donor for sperm and eggs in Canada.

Most donated sperm come from the United States.

“It really feels like straight couples are being supported with this initiative and queer couples are being left out,” Sippola told CTV News.

Sippola and her fiancée Marley Kotylak are getting married this summer. They are considering intrauterine insemination (IUI) shortly after their wedding.

They say they’re getting older and want to start a family.

“It just seems like the natural next step to start planning a family. It was something that was really important to me as I always envisioned my life,” Kotylak said.

IUI success rates range from around 10 to 20 per cent per cycle.

For the couple to have two kids through IUI, the cost of sperm donation is estimated at $16,000, according to Sippola, which would be enough for eight rounds of IUI.

The couple decided not to take a honeymoon and has put off other expenses, including home repairs, to save for future children.

“Needing to have that money up front has limited our ability to just get started,” Kotylak said. “A lot of couples, like friends of mine and my peers, get to just try getting pregnant for awhile. We don’t really have that option.”

In an emailed statement to CTV News, Saskatchewan’s finance ministry acknowledged the very broad and complex range of fertility challenges that impact individuals and families.

Allowing only services provided in Saskatchewan for the purposes of this tax credit is supportive of Saskatchewan-based businesses and the province’s health care professionals, according to the statement.

“For fairness and consistency, eligible expenses are based on the federal definition of fertility treatments as determined in the federal Income Tax Act,” the statement read.

“The FTTC is accessible to all Saskatchewan tax filers and is applied consistently, regardless of marital status, gender, or sexual orientation.”

Carolynn Dubé, executive director of Fertility Matters Canada, said just because it’s applied consistently doesn’t make the tax credit equitable.

“It’s discriminatory,” she told CTV News. “It puts members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community at a huge disadvantage because at a higher rate, they’re the ones that are needing to access donor gametes.”

Sippola and Kotylak said they are in a fortunate situation, where family and friends have helped to chip in with costs. In lieu of gifts for the couple’s bridal shower and wedding, they’ve asked for monetary gifts to help them start their family.

“So many people wouldn’t have the opportunity to have a big wedding and have all these people be able to show up for you that way,” Sippola said.

The IUI treatment and medications will still be eligible under the provincial tax credit.

Barriers to fertility treatment

Dubé says cost and geography are the two biggest barriers to accessing fertility care.

Saskatchewan only has one fertility clinic and it’s in Saskatoon, a two-and-a-half hour drive from Sippola and Kotylak.

“Not only do you need to get there for care, it’s care that happens over several months,” Dubé said.

One round of in vitro fertilization (IVF) can cost around $20,000. IUI is cheaper, but less controlled with a lower success rate.

Canada has a patchwork of fertility treatment programs and tax credits with only a few fully-funded IVF programs, according to Dubé. She was happy to see Saskatchewan announce its tax credit last year to offer some relief.

“It certainly helps some, but the challenge still remains,” she said. “In the majority of the country, that cost is paid upfront and out of pocket by the patient, before even accessing treatment.”

Expenses that don’t qualify for Saskatchewan’s fertility tax credit may still be eligible medical expenses that can be claimed under the Federal Medical Expense Tax Credit, the finance ministry said.

Under the Federal Medical Expense Tax Credit, expenses paid in respect to donor sperm and donor eggs “may be eligible as of 2022 if they are incurred in Canada.”

Limited access to sperm

The vast majority of sperm imported from sperm banks in the U.S.

Only one sperm bank currently operates in Canada, according to Sara Cohen, owner and lawyer at Fertility Law Canada.

The number of sperm banks declined after federal legislation in 2004 made it illegal to pay donors for their sperm or eggs, punishable by up to 10 years in jail and, or $500,000.

Cohen said it limited the number of donors available at the time, which meant “Canadians were using the same donor again and again.”

“Which in my opinion is actually far more dangerous to these kids because so many of them are related to each other,” she said.

The other option to obtain sperm is through a known donor, Cohen said.

“They might have a friend or a cousin or a friend of a friend, who steps up and offers to be a donor,” she said.

“You can reimburse a donor for the expenses that they incur as a result of the donation, as long as they are within the categories listed by Health Canada.”

Cohen said provincial laws make it clear that a known sperm donor is not considered a parent, which protects third party reproduction from a parentage perspective.