The Polish government will begin financing the procedure of in vitro fertilization as of July next year, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said during a press conference on Monday.

Poland’s Health Ministry will provide financing for 15,000 couples for up to three in-vitro procedures for three years after other fertility treatments fail, Tusk said.

“Reimbursement for in vitro will be provided to couples – and not only married ones - who can prove that they have been trying unsuccessfully to have a baby for a year,” Tusk told journalists.

"Initially, only the IVF procedure itself will be covered, while couples will have to pay for the medication themselves. But in the future, the medication will be reimbursed," he added.

Tusk said some PLN 50 million in state funding will be made available next year for the purpose via the National Health Fund. Later the sum will be increased to PLN 100 million annually. IVF will be put on the list of standardized ordinary medical procedures so that the funds can be used without passing a bill in parliament on the matter.

IVF has been performed in Poland for 25 years, but so far no legislation has been passed to regulate the treatment. The ruling Civic Platform has wrestled within its own ranks to find a consensus on the issue.

The plan to fund IVF is bound to meet with opposition from the Church and conservatives who say IVF is artificial conception and a violation of religious doctrine.

The conservative opposition Law and Justice (PiS) has pushed for an outright ban on the IVF treatment, proposing jail for anyone who opts for the method.