Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt recently announced that from 1 November 2021, Australians going through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) will be able to claim a Medicare rebate for genetic testing to screen embryos for severe genetic conditions prior to implantation.

Last weekend, Labor Senator for WA Louise Pratt made headlines for lending her support to a petition lobbying the government to finance the costs of “gender affirming” surgery via Medicare. As the organisers of the petition explain:

Is female genital mutilation (FGM) being performed on little girls in Australia and being paid for by the taxpayer?