UNITED STATES, — The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced plans to provide in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments to eligible unmarried veterans and veterans in same-sex marriages on March 11.
Nurse Roseanne Harris with the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks in Fayetteville says she is eager to start implementing the new expansion.
"We've always wanted this to be very inclusive. We felt like it was unfair from the very beginning, ," Harris said. "We have an obligation to them to provide that care. So I'm so glad that they just passed this bill."
Under the current law, veterans who receive IVF under VA health care must be unable to have children due to service-related health conditions. Additionally, the treatments could only be provided to legally married, heterosexual couples who produce their own gametes (eggs and sperm).
With the latest expansion of care, the Veterans Infertility Treatment Act of 2023 will now provide fertility treatments to any qualifying veterans without taking their marital status into account and allow the use of donated eggs, sperm, and embryos.
The latest expansion, however, does not provide coverage for surrogacy.
According to the VA, they are taking "immediate steps to implement this policy" and expect to be able to offer the treatment nationwide in the coming weeks.
“Raising a family is a wonderful thing, and I’m proud that VA will soon help more Veterans have that opportunity,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said. “This expansion of care has long been a priority for us, and we are working urgently to make sure that eligible unmarried Veterans, Veterans in same-sex marriages, and Veterans who need donors will have access to IVF in every part of the country as soon as possible.”
This announcement comes after two lawsuits were filed against the VA in August 2023.
The first lawsuit was filed by Ashley Sheffield of Massachusetts, a veteran who served in the Air Force for nearly 20 years. Sheffield alleges that a VA hospital in Massachusetts denied her access to IVF health care because she was married to a woman, despite her qualifying for services after incurring several service-related injuries that resulted in "both pain and infertility."
In the second lawsuit, the National Organization for Women in New York City claimed the department's current policies discriminated against veterans based on marital status, sexual orientation, and sex.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.