Should the military pay for ‘in vitro” fertilization?

A married couple serving in the Canadian military unsuccessfully attempted to conceive a child for a number of years. CAF medical authorities determined that the husband suffered from male factor infertility. As a result, the couple required intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF). Under the established Spectrum of Care (SoC), the military would only cover the cost of ICSI, and not IVF. The female soldier submitted a grievance requesting funding for IVF.

The Surgeon General denied the grievance. 

He stated that since the grievor did not meet the eligibility requirements for coverage of IVF, she was not entitled for reimbursement of costs.  The external Military Grievance Board acknowledged that the grievance was not about the grievor's infertility, but that of her husband's.  

The Grievance Board contacted a specialist doctor in the field of infertility and reproductive medicine, who certified that ICSI cannot be conducted without IVF, and that ICSI alone is meaningless as an assisted reproductive technique. The Grievance Board found that to exclude IVF from ICSI treatment would represent an incomplete and meaningless treatment. It recommended that the CAF reimburse the grievor's spouse for the IVF portion of his ICSI treatments, up to three cycles. That recommendation is awaiting a decision by the Chief of the Defence Staff in his role as the Final Authority in the CAF Grievance Process.