Tuesday, October 07, 2014

Govt funded IVF treatment for Parsis

A Parsi wedding portrait, 1948
At a time when the government is promoting birth control measures, the city got its first set of Parsi twins - a boy and a girl - born last week with the help of a government funded fertility treatment scheme. Jiyo Parsi, the unique initiative of the Central government, comes as a welcome change as every new birth matters for the rapidly declining community in the city.
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/others/City-gets-1st-Parsi-twins-under-govt-scheme/articleshow/44570592.cms

While it's great that IVF treatment is being funded, I have 3 major issues with this

1. The Parsis are a rich community. They have the highest per capita income in India. If they are worried about their declining numbers, why can't the community pay for the treatment themselves ? Why do they need government subsidies for this ?
2. Why should non-Parsi Indian taxpayers subsidise this treatment ? And why should this scheme be selectively for Parsis only ? Isn't this unconstitutional ? Aren't all Indian citizens entitled to the same rights ?
3. Why can't the government mandate that IVF treatment be covered by health insurers ? This would be much fairer for everyone.

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