Reform UK Councillor Says Families Who Can’t Afford IVF Treatment ‘Should Not Be Bringing Babies Into the World’

A Reform UK councillor has backed local cuts to NHS-funded IVF treatment, saying they should “cut their garment according to their cloth.”

The comments by Bridget Porter, who is a member of the Reform-controlled Kent County Council comes amid cuts to NHS-funded IVF treatment in the region, which will reduce eligibility for those seeking fertility treatment.

The changes apply to patients from April this year and have caused widespread anger over the cost-saving measure.

IVF treatment in Kent and Medway must now start before patients’ 38th birthday, down from the previous cut-off of 40. The number of NHS-funded IVF/ICSI cycles is also being reduced from up to two cycles to one cycle. And the number of embryo transfers is being halved from four transfers to a maximum of two transfers.

Addressing the cuts to NHS-funded IVF treatments in Kent, Reform councillor Bridget Porter told the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee of KCC on Wednesday morning: “I’d just like to say that I support your policy. I feel that one cycle of IVF, and two embryo transplants is an adequate amount of taxpayer money to be spending on people who need IVF.

“I’d also say this is evidence-based, from your experiences…A lot of people on subsequent cycles drop out of the system because they don’t like the discomfort of the treatment.

“To answer Councillor Jeffrey: if people are on a low income, they should not be bringing babies into the world that they can’t afford them.

“They must cut their garment according to their cloth.”

She added: “[On the] Integrated Care Board being in debt to KCC: well, I don’t see how this increases their ability to pay the debt back to KCC, by frivolous spending. These treatments are not health necessities — they’re lifestyle choices. So I think to have one cycle of IVF at the taxpayers’ expense is very generous.”

Responding to Cllr Porter’s remarks on IVF, Antony Hook, Lib Dem Leader of the Opposition at KCC, said they were “utterly outrageous.”

“The Reform Party must denounce them immediately and remove the whip, or the public will rightly assume these views represent the party as a whole.”

He told Byline Times: “Having children is a profound life experience, and for many, the most important thing they will ever do. It is heartbreaking for couples who struggle to conceive naturally, which is exactly why providing NHS medical support – including IVF – is the right and compassionate thing to do.

“Yet today, Kent County Council was forced to challenge NHS bosses over devastating cuts to local IVF services. The Integrated Care Board is stopping all IVF for women over 38 and halving the service for those under 37, all to save an unspecified sum of money.”

He said the move turns IVF into a “luxury based on the ability to pay, rather than a healthcare service based on medical need.”

“We strongly object to these cruel cuts and have formally asked the Secretary of State to call this decision in for review.”

Cllr Hook added: “As we fight to protect this vital care, the last thing Kent needs is Reform councillors attacking IVF patients and callously suggesting that parenthood is a privilege some do not deserve.”

In the meeting, Green councillor Stuart Jeffrey told Reform’s representative: “Your understanding of the world is quite revolting…I’d suggest you do some diversity and inclusion training.”

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Cost Cuting

A spokesperson for NHS Kent and Medway said in a document outlining the measures: “The changes focus resources on patients most likely to benefit, maximising outcomes, value for money and the sustainability of fertility services in Kent and Medway.

“The updated NICE fertility guideline…published on 31 March 2026, recommends three full IVF cycles for eligible women under 40, with consideration of a further three if conception is not achieved — a substantial expansion from most current national commissioning arrangements.

“NICE guidance is not mandatory; local NHS commissioners decide what can be funded within available resources. As the previous Kent and Medway offer was already below the earlier NICE recommendation, the new offer continues a position of providing fewer cycles than NICE recommends.”

Nigel Farage’s party has recently pledged to cut benefits by billions of pounds to offset the cost of keeping the triple lock on state pensions, should they gain power at the next general election, calling it the “biggest cuts to the benefits bill ever seen”. Experts have warned that working-age and disabled claimants would be the hardest hit under the proposals.

Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick MP has also stated his intention to reinstate the two-child benefits cap, in a U-turn on a previous position that has been criticised as something that will drive thousands of children into poverty, as well as saying that only British nationals would be able to claim benefits, and that people claiming them for “mild anxiety, depression, and similar conditions” would be stopped from doing so.

Reform UK was contacted for comment.

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