Infertile women under 40 could be offered up to six cycles of IVF at a potential cost of �15,000 a patient.

The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) said it was an attempt to set national standards for fertility treatment to end the existing "postcode lottery" for women.

One in six couples have fertility problems and there are there are 27,000 IVF attempts in Britain every year.

Should IVF treatment be paid for by the NHS?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received:

The NHS already provides free advice by doctors on lifestyle changes to increase fertility, free fertility checks to establish the problem, and an immediate free support system whether or not any IVF is successful. People saying "I have paid my taxes and taken nothing out..."... have you been to your doctor about the infertility? Was it free? Who paid for it.... the NHS. No one would claim your right to seek advice from the doctor is unjust or unwarranted, nor would suggest that you had to go private on the successful birth because it was your lifestyle choice to have a child. When you consider that level of support available and being utilised already, the government asking you to contribute ?3,000 per cycle wouldn't seem unreasonable.
Kevin, UK

A little empathy would not go a miss here. I am lucky to have a child naturally but after miscarriage. If you have never lost a child or longed for one you can not know what it is like to feel the pain that infertility brings. The NHS is mainly stretched by over paid management and incompetence rather than 'greedy' people sucking it dry. What about those people whose infertility is as a result of illness such as cancer? Or do we go down the road of 'deserving and undeserving' people (as many do with HIV). Infertility is not the result of 'selfish' women who sleep around and pursue their careers and then demand a child! (blame the women again hmmmm). Have a heart - managed properly the money would be there.
Kes UK, UK

For too long, everyone pussyfoots round childless couples who want kids as if discussing children or families is some great no-no. This perpetuates this obsessive "I'm a victim" mentality that they always seem to have, and all the time they're obsessed with having a child, they're lives are passing them by. Not being able to have a child is unfortunate, but pales into insignificance when compared to most other social and medical conditions that ruin people's daily lives. I think far too much of this is people who've nothing better to do with their lives becoming focused on one goal, because it's the only one they've got. Get over it and get a life.
Katherine Walker, UK

Surely couples who conceive naturally are also selfish for wanting a child when they could adopt Elaine, England

As someone who has recently gone through IVF I have found a lot of the comments very cruel and hurtful. Why is it that only the couples who undergo IVF treatment are considered selfish for desiring a child - surely couples who conceive naturally are also selfish for wanting a child and could just have easily chosen to adopt instead.
Elaine, England

If you can't afford IVF maybe you should consider fully if you can afford a child.
Amanda, England

Yes IVF should be funded but limited to at least three cycles. Six cycles would be too emotionally draining for a couple.
Nina, UK

Yes IVF should be made available to all who NEED it. I feel particularly strongly about this as I had a child last year naturally who I watched die 8 days later from an infection while in hospital. To cut a very long story short I was told I would be able to have another child. Later I discovered that due to retained placenta after delivery I had also caught an infection. I went into an NHS hospital with my fertility and a child and left with neither. Our only chance now for a family is IVF. No one wants to help us and our desire to have a family is far stronger than it ever was before.

There is no right to have a child. it is an uncontrollable biological desire some of us are privileged to experience. I have no control over the grief and depression I feel at the loss of our daughter and similarly I have no control over my desire to be a mother. There is no price that can be put on this - it affects all areas of life. Just like the loss of a child - you only understand it if you experience it.
Diane, England

I myself, at only 21, am going through infertility treatment. We have been trying for over 2 years. There is no way which we could afford to pay for IVF even though my partner earns a decent salary as a huge amount is taken off in taxes to pay for the NHS, schools etc. I find it offensive that people who drink themselves into liver failure get treatment without question, yet those who have a problem which is not their fault, get told they must either wait 1-4 years to have the treatment or pay an extortionate amount of money.

Children are my life, not only do I work as a Nursery Nurse but I have also taken on my fiance's two children who live with us full time. I would love to see IVF be paid for fully by the NHS - infertility causes so much heartache to so many people.
Laurie Slater, Scotland

I appreciate the heartache. I don't appreciate the maths. I don't appreciate the supreme demanding arrogance of people I am reading here. I don't appreciate "I want I want and at 24 I can't wait a year and a half for it because I want it now!" attitude. Be grateful that there exists this technology, don't be such scrooges that you can't be bothered to pay for it yourself but expect everyone else to.
Nat, UK