Woman Sues Employer for IVF Treatment Time

Another example of in vitro fertilization slowly making its way from the optional to the obligatory:

Parminder Sahota, a senior immigration officer, is suing her employers for sex and pregnancy-related discrimination, claiming that she was disciplined for taking too much time off for fertility treatment, then subsequently suspended from work because of her IVF treatment. The UK Border Agency refutes her allegations, and the tribunal case continues . . . . .

Rachel Dineley is an employment partner and discrimination specialist at the law firm Beachcroft. She says that all employers should support women undergoing IVF, or risk costly claims under the Sex Discrimination Act.

“Fertility treatment is a fact of life, especially among the professional classes who perhaps marry later,” she says. “Employers should take a pragmatic approach.”

Yes, Ms. Dineley, IVF is “a fact of life”—and death .