Commercial Actors and Patient Group Influence on Health Policy Decisions Regarding the Public Funding of In Vitro Fertilization: A Cross Provincial Study

In 2014, Ontario and New Brunswick announced new public funding for in vitro fertilization (IVF) These new initiatives have been attributed, in part, to the work of highly mobilized interest groups advocating for the establishment of public funding for IVF, and the highly successful lobbying and social media campaigns that they have mounted. The efforts of these groups to make IVF more accessible are laudable, however, there are important conflicts of interest apparent in the relationships between patient groups and commercial actors (fertility clinics and pharmaceutical firms) that will profit from expanded access to IVF. These relationships are not inherently problematic-there are clear benefits for patient groups in accepting industry funding-however, relevant scholarship suggests that the autonomy and integrity of patient groups may be compromised by financial relationships with commercial actors. My project draws on extensive documentary research and interviews with key actors to address the ways that patient groups advocating for the public funding of IVF are impacted by their financial relationships with commercial actors, as well as the consequences for health policy making on IVF funding in the provinces. By examining the ways that funding initiatives were developed in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and New Brunswick, as well as the ongoing advocacy to establish funding in other provinces, I will identify how the relationships with commercial actors have influenced the work of patient groups advocating for the public funding of IVF, as well as what the outcomes of that advocacy have been. Overall, I will identify the role of commercial actors in the advocacy of patient groups campaigning for the public funding of IVF, and the outcomes for provincial health policy.