Free Fertility Treatment Initiative Reveals Anti-Immigrant Sentiment in Hungary

In-vitro fertilization is an increasingly popular method of fertility treatment. (Wikimedia Commons)

Hungary has begun to offer free in-vitro fertilization fertility (IVF) treatments to its citizens beginning on February 1. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban championed the initiative as a part of his plan to increase Hungary’s stagnant birth rate. However, this ambition originates more from a desire to keep out immigrants than to fight population decline.

Hungary’s population is indeed declining. The CIA World Factbook ranked Hungary in the bottom 10 percent for global birth rates in 2017. Population decline is a concern for the entire central European region, and countries like Croatia and Poland are also attempting to boost their birth rates. For most countries, the effort stems from a desire to maintain economic development. For Hungary, however, population growth is deeply connected to the right-wing government’s goal to curb immigration.

In January, the government nationalized the country’s fertility clinics to begin fulfilling their promise of free treatment, according to Hungary Today. Prime Minister Orban justified the change, arguing that population growth was of “strategic importance.” Orban calls his government’s strategy “procreation over immigration,” according to BBC.

Due to the problems that population decline brings, such as labor shortages and economic decline, Hungary would normally need to supplement its workforce with refugees. The country has no shortage of refugees fleeing conflict in Syria and north Africa. However, Hungary’s current government staunchly opposes immigration. In fact, Orban ran his 2010 campaign on preserving a purely Hungarian Hungary. Instead of addressing the population shortage by welcoming migrants, Orban’s administration is filling the gaps with a new generation of ethnic Hungarians in order to preserve homogeneity.

“If we want Hungarian children instead of immigrants and if the Hungarian economy can generate the necessary funding, then the only solution is to spend as much of the funds as possible on supporting families and raising children,” Orban said.

In addition to offering free IVF treatment, Budapest has implemented tax incentives for families who have four or more children and loan forgiveness for women who have more than three. Not only are these initiatives costly to the Hungarian government, but IVF treatments can cost $40,000 to $60,000 per birth. In short, this is not a low-cost operation for Orban’s government. 

The program to offer free fertility treatment has struck a blow to Hungary’s relationship with the European Union (EU). In 2017 the European Court of Justice ruled that Hungary has a legal obligation as an EU member to accept refugees. Hungary’s refusal to accept migrants has caused tension between Hungary and fellow EU members. If the rift deepens, it is possible that the EU will invoke Article 7, which would suspend Hungary’s voting rights.