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RESOLVE Urges Governors to Consider Access to Infertility Treatments
Advocacy group calls for infertility treatments to be classified as medically necessary treatments, as states consider lifting restrictions on health care services
(April 22, 2020, McLean, VA) – RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association has submitted a letter to the National Governors Association giving voice to the millions of Americans who are struggling to build a family and who have been negatively affected by state restrictions placed on health care services due to COVID-19.
Together with the medical experts in their states, Governors have the ability to make a positive difference in the lives of those struggling to build family. COVID-19 has taken away so much, let’s not let it take away the dream of family,” said Barbara Collura, President /CEO of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. “We all could use a little hope now, and we hope that the Governors will act on our request and help more people build their families soon.
In the letter, Collura states, “We want to ensure that infertility treatments are not classified any differently than other medically necessary treatments, as states consider when and where to lift restrictions on health care services.”
The American Medical Association, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and the World Health Organization all recognize infertility as a disease. The goal of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) – of which in vitro fertilization (IVF) is the leading practice – is to help people with the disease of infertility build their families. These medically necessary treatments may be a patient’s only pathway to having a child, and such treatments are often time sensitive.
One in eight individuals or couples have trouble getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy. Infertility cuts across socioeconomic levels, and all racial, ethnic and religious lines.
About RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association: Established in 1974, RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association is a non-profit organization with the only established, nationwide network mandated to promote reproductive health and to ensure equal access to all family building options for men and women experiencing infertility or other reproductive disorders. One in eight U.S. couples of childbearing age has trouble conceiving or carrying a pregnancy to term. RESOLVE addresses this public health issue by providing community to these women and men, connecting them with others who can help, empowering them to find resolution and giving voice to their demands for access to all family building options. For more information, visit www.RESOLVE.org.