Quebec's opposition parties say they'll work together to force the province to pay for certain kinds of fertility treatment.

The province currently offers a 50 per cent tax credit for couples unable to conceive children naturally, to help defray treatment costs.

But the Parti Québécois and Action Démocratique du Québec say limited in-vitro fertility (IVF) treatments should be free.

Both parties will weigh in at a legislature committee on Tuesday reviewing Bill 23, which puts limits on IVF treatment offered in private clinics.

The proposed legislation should be amended to offer some treatments free of charge, said PQ health critic Bernard Drainville.

The treatment has a low success rate but makes a world of difference to people when it succeeds, he said Monday.

"I've received quite a few letters from parents who desperately want to live their dream of having a baby," Drainville said. "This is why I think we should be getting into this field and making it affordable to everyone, and not only for those who have the financial means to pay for it."

Limited free access to in-vitro treatment would cost the government about $30 million a year, he added. The ADQ is also prepared to push for amendments to the legislation, including reclassifying infertility as a disease and offering free treatment.

The province's official opposition claims it first came up with the idea of making in-vitro treatments free.

"The problem is that the PQ is copying its neighbour, because this is a position the ADQ has defended for several years," ADQ member Éric Caire told CBC's French-language service.

But the ADQ is still willing to vote alongside the PQ - and against the legislation - if amendments aren't made, Caire said.

Quebec TV star swears by IVF

Television host and producer Julie Snyder will testify at the Quebec legislature committee Tuesday, sharing her experience with IVF.

The 40-year-old creator of Le Banquier, Quebec's version of Let's Make a Deal, says IVF changed her life.

She has one child conceived with IVF and is expecting a second after going through a gruelling round of treatment last year.

"I can afford the treatment, fortunately," she told CBC Radio. "[But] I'm so sad for all those couples who don't have my chance."

She thanked God both times she got pregnant, and says she feels a strong urge to advocate for other couples struggling with fertility.

"If I may do something, if I can help, I'll do whatever I can to help the other people who are like me."

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