2.6 percent of babies born in 2021 in Washington state were conceived through IVF, higher rate than the national average; Washington state is one of 29 states that does not require private insurers to cover IVF, Murray’s Right to IVF Act would expand insurance coverage of IVF for more families nationwide
Access to IVF is overwhelmingly popular: 86% of Americans, including 89% of Democrats, 85% of independents, and 86% of Republicans, support IVF
****Read stories from WA State IVF patients supporting Right to IVF Act HERE***
***WATCH: Video of the Press Conference***
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Dr. Ginny Ryan, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist at the UW School of Medicine, hosted a virtual press conference ahead of the Senate vote this week on Senator Murray’s Right to IVF Act, which would establish a nationwide right to IVF and other assisted reproductive technology, expand insurance coverage of IVF services to lower the cost of IVF treatment for families, and expand access to IVF and other fertility services for our nation’s veterans and servicemembers. At the press conference today, Senator Murray spoke about the importance of the legislation to expand access and bring down the cost of IVF, especially in light of continued Republican attacks on IVF and reproductive health care at large. Access to IVF is overwhelmingly popular: 86% of Americans, including 89% of Democrats, 85% of independents, and 86% of Republicans, support continued access to IVF. High-quality video of today’s virtual press conference is available HERE.
In 2021, approximately 2.6 percent of babies born in Washington state were conceived through assisted reproductive technology; slightly higher than the nationwide average of approximately 2.3 percent. Costs for a single cycle of IVF range from $15,000 to $20,000 and can exceed $30,000. The average number of cycles needed to become pregnant from IVF is 2.5, meaning that the cost to conceive successfully through IVF can easily exceed $40,000. Washington state is one of 29 states that does not require private insurance issuers to cover any fertility services, and as a result, many families who need these vital services simply don’t have access. The Right to IVF Act would change this—helping more middle-class Americans afford critical fertility treatments that have, for far too long, been out of reach.
“Tomorrow we are going to be holding a vote to put every single Republican Senator on the record as to whether they genuinely support IVF. We cannot pretend this threat isn’t real—not after what happened in Alabama. I know folks in Washington state are deeply concerned that, unless we take action—that may well just be the start,” said Senator Murray. “The fact of the matter is, Republicans have a bill right now that would enshrine into national law the idea that a frozen embryo is the same—has the exact same rights—as a living, breathing, human person. In other words, a bill that would take the chaos like we saw in Alabama nationwide, and jeopardize IVF access everywhere—including in Washington state.”
“I am really glad to be joined by Dr. Ryan, who has a firsthand perspective on why getting patients access to IVF is important and what sort of threat fetal personhood poses. We are not going to let anyone off the hook at just saying they support IVF—not when there is so much at stake for families. Instead, every Senator is going to go on the record, and put down their vote on the Right to IVF Act, and show whether they will work to pass a serious bill to protect, and expand, IVF access for patients. Families, providers, and people across the country will be watching closely,” Murray continued.
“I love being a Washingtonian and recognize how fortunate my patients are to have a champion in Senator Murray. Leading this charge to protect IVF and assure patients can access the reproductive healthcare they need is just the latest effort in her long fight to promote health care for all of us,” said Dr. Ryan.
Building on the lawmakers’ previous efforts to protect and strengthen access to IVF, this pro-family, pro-freedom legislative package includes:
- Senator Murray and Duckworth’s Access to Family Building Act, which would establish a nationwide right for patients to access IVF and other assisted reproductive technology (ART) services, a right for doctors to provide IVF treatment in accordance with medical standards as well as a right for insurance carriers to cover IVF without prohibition, limitation, interference or impediment. By establishing a statutory right, this would pre-empt any state effort to limit such access and ensuring no hopeful parent—or their doctors—are punished for trying to start or grow a family.
- In February, Senator Duckworth sought unanimous consent to pass this legislation and Republican U.S. Senator of Mississippi Cindy Hyde-Smith blocked it.
- Senator Murray’s Veteran Families Health Services Act, which would expand the fertility treatments and family-building services that are covered under servicemembers’ and veterans’ health care to include—among other things—the option for individuals to cryopreserve their gametes (freeze their eggs or sperm) ahead of deployment to a combat zone and IVF for servicemembers and veterans who are unable to conceive without assistance.
- In March, Senator Murray sought unanimous consent to pass this legislation and Republican U.S. Senator of Oklahoma James Lankford blocked it.
- Senator Booker’s Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act, which would increase the affordability of fertility care—including IVF—by requiring employer-sponsored insurance plans and other public insurance plans to cover fertility treatments. Additionally, it would standardize a baseline of high-quality fertility treatment coverage under private health insurance plans, while protecting Americans against excessive out-of-pocket costs.
- Senator Duckworth’s Family Building FEHB Fairness Act, which would require health insurers in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program—the largest employer-sponsored health insurance plan in the world—to cover IVF and ART to help more hardworking Americans start and grow their families.
- A summary of the bill can be found HERE.
Senator Murray’s full remarks, as delivered, are below:
“Tomorrow we are going to be holding a vote to put every single Republican Senator on the record as to whether they genuinely support IVF and want to make sure we avoid more heartbreak and chaos like we saw earlier this year.
“We cannot pretend this threat isn’t real—not after what happened in Alabama.
“But I know folks in Washington state are deeply concerned that, unless we take action—that may well just be the start!
“Because the fact of the matter is, Republicans have a bill right now that would enshrine into national law the idea that a frozen embryo is the same—has the exact same rights—as a living, breathing, human person.
“In other words—a bill that would take the chaos like we saw in Alabama nationwide, and jeopardize IVF access everywhere—including in Washington state.
“This is not some fringe bill either—the Life at Conception Act has the support of half of the House Republicans! Including the Speaker of the House, and including some Republicans who claim to support IVF!
“That just does not add up. IVF and fetal personhood laws are fundamentally incompatible.
“That’s why we are holding a vote tomorrow that will put every single Senator on the record as to whether they actually want to protect IVF and whether they actually want to help people get it.
“Our bill is the Right to IVF Act. It protects the right to IVF nationally, and lowers the cost of IVF for families with stronger insurance coverage requirements. And it includes my law to make sure more veterans and servicemembers can access the IVF services that they need.
“As we discuss these issues, I am really glad to be joined by Dr. Ryan, who has a firsthand perspective on why getting patients access to IVF is important and what sort of threat fetal personhood poses.
“IVF is already painfully expensive, and inaccessible, for too many families.
“That’s why it is so important we pass legislation that protects IVF care from new restrictions and bans, and will help make sure this care is more affordable to families.
“When you talk to any who has gone through IVF, or who is hoping to go through it, it is clear how important this is to people. It is personal. It is emotional.
“It is their entire hopes for growing their family.
“We need to be taking down barriers like cost—and not letting anyone put up new, completely unnecessary restrictions.
“So we are not going to let anyone off the hook at just saying they support IVF—not when there is so much at stake for our families.
“Instead, every Senator is going to go on the record, and put down their vote on the Right to IVF Act—and show whether they will work to pass a serious bill to protect, and expand, IVF access for patients.
“And families, providers, and people across the country will be watching closely.
“It is my pleasure to turn it over to Dr. Ginny Ryan, who knows better than anyone exactly why IVF is a medical procedure that has to be protected.”
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