Married Today, lesbian couples will launch landmark cases against the NHS fertility clinic. They claim it discriminates against gay and bisexual couples.

Megan Bacon Evans, 34, is requesting equal fertility treatment for Whitney Evans, 33.

They, who have become social media icons, stated that they must pay thousands to qualify for NHS-funded IVF. This is in contrast to heterosexual couples.

Megan yesterday said they wanted to start a family after being together for 12 years – but they were ‘shocked to discover discrimination in place after embarking on our baby journey’.

Megan Bacon-Evans, 34, and her wife Whitney, 33, are demanding equal fertility treatment, said they were ‘shocked to discover discrimination in place after embarking on our baby journey’

Megan Bacon-Evans, 34, and her wife Whitney, 33, are demanding equal fertility treatment, said they were ‘shocked to discover discrimination in place after embarking on our baby journey’

Infertile patients are required to prove their infertility before they can be eligible for IVF. If you have tried to conceive naturally for 2 years, you may qualify.

But their NHS clinical commissioning group (CCG), Frimley, requires female same-sex couples to self-fund 12 intra-uterine insemination treatments – which involve inserting sperm into a woman’s womb – costing around £30,000 or more.

CCGs are also accused in England of being a lottery because they require varying numbers of insemination treatments before offering the same assistance to heterosexual couples.

Northern Ireland needs four while Scotland and Wales don’t have any additional fees.

Now Megan and Whitney – known as Wegan to their 210,000 followers across YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok – have launched a £10,000 fundraiser to cover their legal fees.

Today, lawyers will apply for a review of the case on behalf of the couple from Windsor in Berkshire.

They allege discrimination under the Equality Act and European Convention on Human Rights, in what could become a major test of NHS England’s treatment of LGBT+ families. The case could be heard in January, if granted permission.

The couple, who featured on the BBC’s Britain’s Relationship Secrets documentary, have so far spent £8,000 on donor sperm and mandatory pre-insemination tests.

Campaigners claimed the NHS’s policies penalise LGBT+ individuals, forcing many into debt or dangerous, unregulated online deals with men, risking sexual assault, disease and custody battles, The Guardian reported.

The couple, from Windsor in Berkshire, are known as Wegan to their 210,000 followers across YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok

To their 210,000 YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook followers, the couple from Windsor, Berkshire is known as Wegan

Former health secretary Matt Hancock said in 2019 that ‘sexual orientation should not be a factor in access to IVF’.

Megan and Whitney yesterday said: ‘It is time for discrimination to end and for there to be equal treatment with heterosexual couples in the healthcare system.’

They are backed by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, which says restrictions on funding IVF ‘amount to a tax on LGBT+ families’.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) – the health regulator – recommends three IVF cycles for patients under 40 if they have been trying for two years.

These rules are for patients of all CCGs, no matter what relationship.

Frimley is a hospital that serves 800,000 people in Berkshire and Surrey. It also denies discrimination.

Yesterday’s request for comment was not answered by the Department of Health. The Department of Health stated earlier in the year that equal access should be provided for fertility services.

The pandemic forced the cancellation of a plan to review variations.