Women in Politics

Female politicians want to see paid leave for IVF and miscarriage ordeals introduced

More than 14,000 pregnancies end in miscarriage every year – and this stark statistic has been discussed at length by female politicians from all sides of the political spectrum over the last week.

And, for the first time, many of these women are speaking out about their own experiences of fertility and miscarriage.

The conversation was sparked following a Labour Party Bill introduced by Senator Ivana Bacik which would introduce 20 days’ paid miscarriage leave for women who lose a pregnancy before 24 weeks.

The conversation was sparked following a Labour Party Bill introduced by Senator Ivana Bacik which would introduce 20 days’ paid miscarriage leave for women who lose a pregnancy before 24 weeks. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos

It would also allow people going through fertility treatment to avail of ten days of paid leave.

During the Seanad debate, a number of senators spoke of their personal experience with infertility and miscarriage. One of the most poignant contributions came from Fine Gael’s Mary Seery-Kearney who revealed that she had suffered five miscarriages.

Speaking to the Irish Daily Mail, she revealed she went through 13 rounds of IVF over the space of 13 years. Her 13th round of IVF saw her daughter Scarlett, aged six, born through a surrogate in India in May 2015.

Fine Gael senator Mary Seery-Kearney with her husband David and daughter Scarlett, who is now six. Pic: Mary Seery-Kearney

The Fine Gael senator admitted that she felt ‘vulnerable’ speaking about her experience in the Seanad but saw it as an important step forward in ending the stigma surrounding miscarriage, surrogacy and IVF.

Senator Seery-Kearney first considered surrogacy following the 2014 RTÉ documentary, Her Body, Our Babies. At the time, she had taken a break from IVF treatment and had returned to education to study law.

After a ‘horrific experience’ with surrogacy in Ukraine, Ms Seery-Kearney and her husband David decided to travel to India.

The Fine Gael senator admitted that she felt ‘vulnerable’ speaking about her experience in the Seanad but saw it as an important step forward in ending the stigma surrounding miscarriage, surrogacy and IVF. Pic: Mary Seery-Kearney

She explained: ‘We were terrified all the way, naturally. You don’t realise you’re carrying the trauma after five miscarriages, but you are. I still didn’t believe I was going to hold the baby and then you hold her for the first time and then you start thinking, “Oh my goodness. This is real”.’

Availing of surrogacy in a foreign country presents its own issues. Under Irish law, Ms Seery-Kearney is not legally considered Scarlett’s mother. While she has guardianship, the only way she will be legally considered her mother is if she adopts her, something the senator refuses to do.

Ms Seery-Kearney acknowledges the need for paid miscarriage and fertility leave as she was often left ‘black and blue from the waist down’ after IVF injections. At one stage, she explained, she had to give herself an injection every eight hours.

These sentiments were echoed by Labour’s Marie Sherlock.

Senator Marie Sherlock said that she was told nine years ago that she would never be able to conceive naturally. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos

Although she acknowledged her struggles during the Seanad debate on Monday, she later admitted to the Mail that some of her closest family members and friends were not privy to her suffering.

During the debate, she revealed that she had ‘moved heaven and earth’ to have children and she was ‘one of the lucky ones’.

Senator Sherlock revealed that she was told nine years ago that she would never be able to conceive naturally. The aftermath of this, she admitted, was devastating and something she found difficult to come to terms with.

‘It was something that we found extremely difficult,’ she said.

Although Marie Sherlock acknowledged her struggles during the Seanad debate on Monday, she later admitted to the Mail that some of her closest family members and friends were not privy to her suffering. Pic: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

‘We didn’t want to talk to anyone else about it. It’s taken me years to be able to talk.

‘Anybody who receives the news, there is that intense sadness and that uncertainty of, “will it ever happen for you?”.

‘Not every woman wants to give birth. But, for those who do, to find out that you can’t is very difficult.

‘It challenged me to my very being, to my very core, in terms of me as a woman. It shakes all those certainties and all those things you think you know about yourself. There is that sense of inadequacy; I certainly felt that.

‘There is this expectation that people will go on to have children when, actually, the reality is much more complex.’

Senator Sherlock said that she went through IVF over a number of years and had ‘both successes and failures’ along the way.

However, she now has three ‘miracle children’ aged six, four and one. The Labour senator said that the Bill introduced by the party is important as IVF can be time-consuming. She noted that while women usually have to attend six to eight scans, she experienced complications and had a different experience.

While she understands that some women may not want to tell their employers that they are going through fertility treatment or have experienced miscarriage, the Bill, if adopted, will give women a choice.

Senator Sherlock said that she went through IVF over a number of years and had ‘both successes and failures’ along the way. Pic: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Fine Gael TD for Dún Laoghaire, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, previously revealed to the Mail that she had gone through IVF and had experienced miscarriage.

The TD has one son and previously revealed that, although she went through IVF in the hope of having more children, ‘it was not to be’. She explained to the Mail that at the time of her miscarriage, she was at home looking after her young children so did not need to avail of leave from work.

However, she agrees with the Labour Party that specific leave for both miscarriage and IVF needs to be legislated for. She said: ‘I’ve been through IVF myself and it’s not easy. It’s disruptive and it takes a certain amount of time.

‘I remember finding myself in strange situations like in a restaurant or a shop changing room giving myself an injection so I was doing it at the right time.

TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and her husband Hugo. Pic: Collins

‘So many people absorb these things and go on but it can interfere with work. I think the value of having something legislatively is that it’s important to name the existence of this on our statute book. If we’re having that conversation, we’re in a good place.

‘[Fine Gael] are suggesting five days as a beginning point, Labour are taking a broader approach. These are conversations we’re perfectly happy to have; I want to see the principle in legislation.’

Ms Carroll MacNeill said while she knows it is important for politicians to speak out about their experience of miscarriage and fertility, she hopes a time will come when female TDs and senators will not have to put themselves through the heartache of sharing their personal stories to enact change. She explained: ‘You’re a woman in a high-profile position; you’re an elected member of parliament and it’s a really important seat. What it represents and who it represents is important.’

She added: ‘Shouldn’t it be enough that I’m a female TD from Dún Laoghaire standing up and saying, “This is a thing that needs to happen” without having to divulge the private details?’

Ms Carroll MacNeill said while she knows it is important for politicians to speak out about their experience of miscarriage and fertility, she hopes a time will come when female TDs and senators will not have to put themselves through the heartache of sharing their personal stories to enact change. Pic: Fran Veale

There have also been calls on the Government to publicly fund IVF treatment which can cost couples thousands of euro. In December 2019, former health minister Simon Harris announced a plan to roll out a Model of Care for Infertility.

Phase two of this plan will see the introduction of tertiary infertility services, including IVF, in the public health system. This cannot commence, however, until the

Assisted Human Reproduction Bill is introduced. In response to a parliamentary question on April 28, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said that the ‘Assisted Human Reproduction Bill is ongoing by officials in my department, in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General’.

Marie Sherlock said that the Government needs to follow through on its promise to provide publicly funded IVF as some women are running out of time.

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill agrees with the Labour Party that specific leave for both miscarriage and IVF needs to be legislated for. Pic: Jennifer Carroll MacNeill/Facebook

She also noted that Fine Gael made a commitment during the 2016 general election to introduce free fertility treatment. ‘The reality is the women who were 30 then are now 36. The women who were 40 then are now 46. For some of those women, it is too late,’ she said.

‘Ireland is the only EU member state that does not provide State support for fertility treatment.

‘For us, it was an enormous struggle to put the finances together. Enormous. But we were extremely determined; we felt we had to do this and this is something that we wanted to do.

‘It is important that we get a move on now.

‘When these services are developed and waiting lists for advanced AHR treatments established, the department will be in a better position to estimate the demand for tertiary level AHR services and resources required.’


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