Expansion of support for infertile couples in Gyeonggi Province

Gyeonggi Province has expanded the support scope for couples experiencing infertility. It has extended the benefits of covering treatment costs without discrimination based on age, income, or number of attempts for infertile couples residing within the province. This is welcome news in the era of low birth rates. Especially for couples with a clear intention to have children, it is akin to gaining a reliable support system. This measure also includes the abolition of the previous policy of providing differential support amounts based on women's age.

According to the data as of the 2nd, due to health risks associated with advanced maternal age pregnancies, support amounts have been differentiated based on women aged 45 and above. As a result, women over 45 received up to 200,000 won less in support than women under 44. With this measure, women with infertility residing in Gyeonggi Province can now receive the same support amount regardless of age.

Previously, Gyeonggi Province abolished the income criterion that only supported households with an income of 180% or less of the median income in July of last year to ease the financial burden on infertile couples. Immediately, they implemented a treatment accompaniment leave system for infertile couples, and from January of this year, the residency requirement within the province was changed to Gyeonggi Province residency regardless of duration. Starting from February, the support limit for infertility treatments, previously restricted to 21 sessions, was expanded to 25 sessions.

The continuous expansion of support for infertile couples and the policies including this measure are all prominent in the era of low birth rates. However, there are concerns. Local governments, which need to implement more detailed support measures for infertile couples in the future, face many limitations in sustaining these efforts. First, there is a lack of government support budget. Currently, the policy of supporting infertility treatment costs is led by the government, with local governments responsible for covering the treatment expenses.

As a result, the project is not progressing properly. The lack of support laws is also a problem. The Maternal and Child Health Act limits support for infertility treatments to pregnant women of reproductive age and women of reproductive age, which restricts assistance. Therefore, local governments are unable to provide support for male infertility for socially and economically vulnerable groups. The infertility leave, which can only be used within three days including paid leave, needs to be improved as well.

The bill to extend paid infertility leave to 30 days was scrapped with the end of the 21st National Assembly. Our society's measures to address low birth rates must take precedence over anything else. The government's support to enable local governments to actively tackle the low birth rate issue is also indispensable.