Attorney General Bonta: Now More Than Ever, Congress Must Expand Access to Reproductive Healthcare Services

AG Calls for More Affordable and Accessible Assisted Reproductive Technology Services Nationwide Following Dangerous Alabama IVF Decision

OAKLAND - During National Infertility Awareness Week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general urging Congress to pass the Access to Family Building Act. The Act would guarantee the right to access assisted reproductive technology (ART), such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF) nationwide. ART has provided thousands of people in diverse situations the opportunity to grow their families, including cancer survivors, same-sex couples, people experiencing infertility, or those choosing to parent alone. In today's letter, the attorneys general argue for strong federal protections, such as the Access to Family Building Act, to expand access to ART and to protect patients' rights to make their own reproductive health care decisions following the recent decision from the Alabama Supreme Court.

"From the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade to the Alabama Supreme Court's ruling that jeopardizes essential reproductive health services, we are seeing draconian restrictions on reproductive freedom across this country," said Attorney General Bonta. "Americans should have the right to choose whether, when, and how to start or expand their families, without government interference. The Act would codify this right for countless families, and that's why today, I, alongside attorneys general nationwide, are calling on Congress to act swiftly on this legislation."

The recent Alabama Supreme Court decision, which determined that embryos should be considered "extrauterine children" and that the destruction of embryos created through IVF is subject to the state's Wrongful Death of a Minor Act, put the practice of IVF in jeopardy in Alabama. Clinics across the state suspended their services immediately following this decision, devastating patients who were in the midst of IVF treatment. This decision threatens ART services nationwide and the right of families to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions.

In the letter sent to the leadership of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and Subcommittee on Health of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition of attorneys general urge Congress to take proactive steps to protect ART services. ART has allowed thousands of people, including same-sex couples, single parents, and those experiencing health conditions such as cancer or infertility, to build a family. Nearly two percent of all babies born in the U.S. each year are conceived using ART. However, the cost of ART services can be prohibitive, and the insurance policy definitions of "infertility" can be limiting, especially for LGBTQ+ couples.

In the U.S., the average cost of ART services such as IVF is approximately $20,000 a cycle, but that number can increase depending on a patient's medical protocols, or if a patient undergoes multiple cycles. The Act would make ART services more accessible to families of all types by guaranteeing patients the right to ART without prohibition or unreasonable limitation or interference, encouraging health insurance providers to cover these services, and ensuring that patients have the right to make their own determinations and decisions regarding their reproductive genetic materials.

Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the District of Colombia in sending this letter to Congress.

A copy of the letter can be found here.