Four decades of familymaking with London Women’s Clinic
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE PROVIDED BY LWC
It’s hard to imagine a world without fertility treatments like IVF and IUI. In the UK alone 390,000 babies were born as a result of IVF between 1991 and 2019. For the LGBTQIA+ community, the invention of IVF is arguably one of the most life-changing scientific discoveries in history. In facilitating our family-making, this scientific process has helped thousands of same-sex couples feel empowered when it comes to fertility.
Opened in 1985, London Women’s Clinic (LWC) has been right there with patients seeking out IVF from pretty much the beginning. To celebrate LGBT+ History Month and over four decades of scientific game-changing at LWC, here’s a brief history lesson of how we got to where we are today.
HOW WAS IVF INVENTED?
Before scientists turned their attention to humans they were busy working on IVF for mammals. Walter Heape was even looking at embryo transfer in mammals in 1890! In the early 20th century, scientists began to prove that IVF was possible in animals, setting up the groundwork for research to be done on human embryos.By 1968, Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards and Jean Purdy began focusing their attention on human IVF. Only a few years later in 1978, the world’s first baby to be conceived by IVF – Louise Brown – was born.
HOW WERE SAME-SEX COUPLES TREATED WHEN ACCESSING IVF AT THE BEGINNING?
While scientific advancements in IVF during the 1970s and 1980s were booming, societal acceptance for LGBTQIA+ families was not. In fact, Section 28 (the UK law which banned local authorities and schools from “promoting homosexuality”) was right around the corner. This clause lasted from 1988 to 2003, labelling same-sex families as “pretend family relationships”. For doctors and nurses working in the public sector – like LWC scientific and managing director Dr Kamal Ahuja and director of nursing at LWC Mimi Arian-Schad – clinics were required to seek ethics committee approval for same-sex patients seeking fertility treatment.
Often, clinicians had to turn patients away when applications were denied. In fact in 1990, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Act required clinics to consider a child’s “need for a father” when looking at applications.It was this experience which ultimately led Dr Ahuja to move to LWC with Mimi, where they could interpret the law more liberally when accepting LGBTQIA+ patients. “There was a lot of secrecy around same-sex couples having treatment,” Mimi explains. “Not because they didn’t want to have a family, but they didn’t know how people felt about giving them treatment and talking to them. We learned how to support them in terms of their emotional needs, and create an environment where they feel genuinely safe.
WHEN DID THINGS CHANGE?
By 2003, the UK had largely decriminalised homosexuality, and just five years later the HFE Act was updated to replace “need for a father” with “supportive parenting” to allow same-sex couples to become joint legal parents. During this period, LWC had started running Inseminar, one of the earliest event programmes designed specifically for lesbian couples and single women.This culture of inclusivity would continue throughout LWC’s lifespan, embedded firmly into its ethos. “LWC was known to treat single and lesbian couples,” Mimi tells me. “Now nobody notices anything. It’s beautiful when you see all types of people in the waiting area.”
By 2008, LWC had launched its own surrogacy service, which could help even more types of couples become parents. In 2016, LWC celebrated its first live birth for a same-sex male couple using a surrogate.Throughout its history, LWC has worked closely with the LGBTQIA+ community to ensure everyone has access to the right fertility treatment for them. In 2017, LWC saw its first live birth using eggs from a trans man, another pioneering step for LGBTQIA+ people to have autonomy over their family-making journey.
WHAT’S NEXT?
In 2025, LWC and DIVA launched The Familymakers Show, a free event dedicated to providing the LGBTQIA+ community with accessible information about their fertility journeys. Bringing together some of the best experts at LWC and beyond, The Familymakers Show has provided hundreds with a space to connect with other prospective parents and feel empowered to choose their next steps.
For Mimi, making sure everyone has access to treatment is the most important development to see in the future. “What matters to me is that anybody who wants to be with their family can get the help they need without barriers or stigmas. More hope, more compassion and more families created with care.”
Find out more about The Familymakers Show here: familymakers.co.uk
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