The National Organization for Women (NOW) and two groups representing veterans are suing the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) over health care coverage for fertility treatments, Military.com reported.
According to NOW's New York City chapter, the Yale Law School Veterans Legal Services Clinic, and the National Veterans Legal Services Program, the DoD and VA policies violate anti-discrimination laws by excluding single veterans, same-sex couples, and unmarried couples.
As it stands, the policies to access in vitro fertilization treatment require service members to be married, have a service-connected illness or injury, and be capable of using their own sperm and eggs to conceive. Barring the use of donor eggs or sperm leaves out even legally married same-sex couples with service-connected fertility conditions.
"The VA's refusal to provide IVF to [these] veterans is not merely a failure. It is blatant discrimination and bigotry," said Renee Burbank, director of litigation at the National Veterans Legal Services Program.
Although service members can use Tricare, the military's civilian health benefits program, for limited services related to infertility, the program does not cover IVF itself.
Jessica Quinter, a Yale Law School graduate involved with the Reproductive Rights and Justice Project, said the service-connected requirement of the fertility policies goes beyond what is normally required for VHA benefits.
Legislation introduced this year by Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Calif 26) to expand VA coverage of advanced fertility treatments to include those who are single; in a same-sex relationship; or need a donated embryo, egg or sperm, has not been considered by the House Veterans Affairs health subcommittee.
