Does a 39-year-old woman deserve IVF support, but not a 41-year-old?

Estonia is debating whether the age limit for state-funded IVF treatment should be raised from 40 to 42 years. Fertility treatment peer counsellor Merit Villandberg points out that in making this important decision, the women themselves-those most directly affected-are not being heard. Villandberg has spoken with more than a hundred women who have sought support in their journey to parenthood.

In recent weeks, Estonia has been debating whether the age limit for state-funded in vitro fertilisation (IVF) should be raised from the current 40 years to 42 years. The decision is being shaped by politicians, officials, and experts, but the voices of the women whose lives this decision directly affects have been sidelined.

Experience that numbers do not reveal

Merit Villandberg is trying to fill this gap. She herself has spent years on the infertility treatment journey and now works as a peer counsellor. According to her, over the past few years she has spoken with more than a hundred women who have sought support in order to become parents.

Villandberg argues that the current age limit of 40 years is artificially sharp: a woman who receives state-funded treatment today may find herself outside the system tomorrow, the day after her birthday. The question of whether a 39-year-old woman deserves support but a 41-year-old does not is, in her view, not merely a bureaucratic detail, but reflects a deeper set of values.

Women's voices belong in this debate

Villandberg emphasises that in deciding on the IVF age limit, the real experiences and needs of women facing this regulation must be taken into account. Currently, policy is shaped primarily by medical and economic arguments, but the human dimension often falls by the wayside.

Fertility treatment is an emotionally and physically draining process that demands great commitment from families. As a peer counsellor, Villandberg has seen how falling outside the age limit can mean, for a person, the ultimate collapse of a greater dream-becoming a parent.