Susanna Reid apologised to a lesbian couple after asking them who wants to “be mum” on Good Morning Britain.
On the 9 November episode of the ITV breakfast show, Reid spoke to Megan and Whitney Bacon-Evans who have been together for 13 years.
According to The Guardian, the couple has accused their local fertility branch (Frimley CCG) of discrimination due to their sexuality, something that Frimley CCG firmly denies.
The influencers, who have over 200,000 followers across their social media channels, filed a petition last November requesting equal treatment after reading about the restrictive rules.
Under the current IVF guidelines, same-sex couples and single women are required to pay for 12 intrauterine inseminations to “prove” medical infertility.
These tests can potentially cost £30,000 or more before the remaining fees are covered by the NHS.
These requirements significantly differ from that of heterosexual couples, who are asked to attempt to conceive for two years.
During their discussion with Reid about hopefully becoming parents, the presenter asked: “What are your dreams, what are your hopes? Who wants to be mum? How many children would you like to have?”
“Well, we both want to be mum,” Megan stated.
'It's about equality'
A lesbian couple are calling for the same fertility rights as heterosexual couples after they were refused the chance to have treatment provided by a branch of the NHS's fertility sector.
Couple Meghan & Whitney explain why they're launching a legal case. pic.twitter.com/ogfxIpexzy
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) November 9, 2021
Reid was quick to apologise to the pair and said: “Of course you both want to be mum, of course. I apologise for that insensitivity.”
She went on to clarify that she meant to ask “who wants to carry the baby”.
Megan confirmed that the couple is planning for her to get pregnant first, but that they have enough sperm to have siblings in a few years.
Since starting their IVF journey, the two spent £8,000 on tests and sperm donation.
Eloise Stonborough, associate director of policy and research at Stonewall, released a statement on the potential litigation.
“Whitney and Megan’s case highlights the human impact of restricting access to NHS-funded fertility services, and we are proud to support their fight to make sure that no one is excluded from the right to form a family,” she said.
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