Virgin births: NZ fertility specialist says woman's sexual history not our business

Artificial insemination: UK media claims at least four major IVF clinics have helped women who have never had sex conceive. Photo / iStock

Treatment specialists say single clients’ support arrangements far more important than sexual history.

New Zealand fertility treatment specialists have no knowledge of assisting any virgin births, as have been reported from Britain, but don't believe a woman's sexual history should be their business anyway.

"Whether they are single and have or haven't had sexual relationships before is kind of their business," Dr Guy Gudex, medical director of Auckland-based assisted fertility company Repromed, said yesterday.

"It wouldn't affect our decision-making."

But both he and Fertility Associates founder Dr Richard Fisher said they took particular care, when approached for treatment by single women, to reassure themselves their clients would have support people available to help with a child's upbringing in circumstances such as sickness.

"We do treat single women with donor insemination, but I don't know whether there are any ... who have never had intercourse," said Dr Fisher.

"We are very careful about counselling single women who have no external support about having treatment of any sort, to try to ensure we haven't got isolated women who might want to have a child where it won't get the normal embrace of a family."

The specialists' comments follow a report from Britain of doctors at four major fertility firms suggesting there have been at least 25 virgin births in that country in the past five years.

Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper quoted the doctors as saying single women who had never had sexual intercourse were seeking treatment because they wanted to have a child now and save sex for a "special relationship".

Some said their cases involved women with a fear of sex.

Despite history's most famous reported virgin birth being that of Jesus Christ, the British cases have been criticised by religious groups as allegedly undermining the importance of bringing up children in stable marriages.

One British doctor said the number of single women he treated had doubled over the past decade, accounting for at least 10 per cent of his patients.

But Dr Gudex believed fewer than 1 per cent of women receiving fertility treatment in New Zealand would be either single or in same-sex relationships.

Even so, he said, the number was increasing and he expected that to continue as more single women became conscious of their age.

"I guess the biggest issue is that they are worried about their age and the majority have been in relationships but obviously aren't at the moment and can't see themselves being in one in the foreseeable future," he said.

The other increasingly popular option was for women to have their eggs frozen, in the hope of finding a partner later.

Dr Fisher said fertility specialists were legally required to consider the interests of future children before providing treatment.

Although there had been a handful of cases in which his firm had refused treatment - and been challenged unsuccessfully under human rights legislation - he said most women seeking assistance had good support systems and wanted to have a baby.

"They are going to be much better parents than a large number of people who are conceiving by accident."

Birth breakdown
57,000 New Zealand births annually
1300 Births assisted by in vitro fertilisation (IVF)