Charlotte McPhillips from Rainham denied IVF treatment on NHS because partner Robert Howard has a child

A young woman who is desperate to have a baby has been refused IVF treatment on the NHS because her partner has a child.

Charlotte McPhillips is distraught that she is being denied the fertility programme free of charge because her boyfriend Robert Howard has a four-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.

The 23-year-old, who is unable to have children naturally due to a hormonal condition, said she burst into tears when she heard the news.

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Charlotte McPhillips and Robert Howard have been denied IVF treatment

Speaking from the home she shares with Robert in Wivenhoe Close, Rainham, she said: How can I be deprived of every womans basic right, to be a mum?

Why am I being penalised for a condition that I have through no fault of my own?

Charlotte, who is a barmaid and assistant manager of the White Horse pub in Rainham High Street and Robert, who is unemployed, cannot afford the 5,000 needed to pay for IVF privately.

She said: In any case, I pay my taxes. Why should we have to pay?

The couple are fighting their case through Gillingham and Rainham MP Rehman Chishti and are prepared to take the matter through the European Courts of Human Rights.

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Charlotte McPhillips from Rainham denied IVF treatment on NHS because partner Robert Howard has a child