(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray commended legislation introduced by Representatives Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Steve Stivers (R-OH) that ends the ban on in vitro fertilization (IVF) services at VA and provides access to fertility treatment, adoption services, and other care in order to help severely wounded veterans start families. The House bill, the Women Veterans and Other Health Care Improvements Act of 2013, is the companion legislation to the first bill Sen. Murray introduced in the 113th Congress.
“Providing fertility services is a cost of war and part of the commitment we make to care for our servicemembers and veterans when they return home,” said Senator Murray. “So I applaud the bipartisan effort on this critical legislation by Congressmen Larsen and Stivers. I hope the House will act quickly to help our most seriously wounded veterans, and their spouses. We should not make these veterans, who have sacrificed so much, wait any longer to be able to realize their dreams of starting or expanding their families. We owe them nothing less.”
Late last year, during the 112th Congress, Senator Murray was able to unanimously pass the bill through the U.S. Senate after delivering an impassioned speech on the Senate floor that described the challenges veterans and their families face in accessing IVF. Unfortunately, the bill failed to move in the House of Representatives in time to make its way to the President’s desk after Republican leaders there expressed opposition.
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