BUENOS AIRES — With its affordable fertility treatments, high medical services and liberal laws, Argentina could become the next mecca of reproductive tourism.
Keen to be a global leader in reproductive justice, in 2013 the pope’s homeland overwhelmingly passed a law subsidizing in vitro fertilization (IVF) for all, regardless of sexual orientation, marital status or economic background. The country now joins Spain, India and other top destinations for so-called “fertility tourists.”
People from across the globe – from neighboring Uruguay to Australia – are traveling to the South American nation to benefit from assisted reproductive technologies, such as IVF and embryo transfer that cost up to $4,000 per cycle. Such treatments remain a luxury in places such as the United States, where IVF fetches between $15,000 and $30,000 per cycle.
People in affluent countries like the United States and Canada often have fewer children than they hope for, according to an August 2016 poll by the consultancy Globescan on behalf of The Economist. The survey found that couples across Western Europe, Turkey,Russia and Australia also have less than the ideal number of children.
The trend is reversed in Africa and Asia, where parents in countries like Nigeria, Pakistan,Indonesia and India tend to have more children than they would like.
The World Health Organization found that between 8 and 12 percent of adult couples have troubles making a child. This global problem affects between 50 and 80 million people.
This video was shot and produced for U.S. News and World report in July 2016 and released on October 5, 2016. Click here to watch it.
