Laws and policies that support access to fertility care are vital to reproductive rights because they help people to make choices about their health and life. These policies also promote equality, non-discrimination, and the benefits of scientific advancements.

Preliminary research shows that servicemembers and veterans may have higher infertility rates than the general U.S. population. However, their access to fertility care, like IVF, is often limited. Barriers to care include legal restrictions on insurance coverage, high out-of-pocket costs, and logistical issues.

Learn how we’re standing up for servicemembers and veterans here.

Most definitions of infertility focus only on the medical side. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines infertility as not being able to get pregnant after trying for six months to a year without birth control. This narrow definition is often used in laws about IVF insurance coverage. But it leaves out what’s known as social infertility—when someone can’t have a baby through sex because they don’t have a partner or are LGBTQ.

Laws and policies that only provide IVF insurance coverage to people with a clinical diagnosis of infertility do not reflect the diverse communities who need it to start or build their families. To ensure that everyone has equitable access to care, these laws and policies must provide coverage to people struggling with infertility as well as to individuals and couples who do not have the necessary gametes (egg and/or sperm) to become pregnant, such as single individuals and same-sex couples.