Our Issues
Learn about the main issues we advocate for and how you can help.
Increasing Insurance Coverage
Cost is the number one barrier to medical treatment, as 46% of people do not have insurance coverage for infertility, according to a 2012 RESOLVE survey. To improve access to care, we must remove financial obstacles to care. Learn about how to contact your employer about getting insurance coverage at work.
RESOLVE is committed to increasing the number of people with access to health insurance that covers infertility medical treatment, and specifically IVF.
Opposing Personhood
Keeping IVF legal is very important to RESOLVE because it helps so many people resolve their infertility. For almost a decade, states around the country (as well as the federal government) have attempted to pass laws declaring that human life or “personhood” begins as soon as sperm fertilizes an egg. These so called personhood bills could make common fertility treatments like IVF illegal.
Protecting Your Right to Build a Family
However you choose to build your family, you should be able to do so in your home state, without it being illegal or burdened by unnecessary regulation. RESOLVE works tirelessly to ensure that all family building options remain available and legal, and we work to overturn bad laws. Gestational surrogacy, donor egg, donor sperm, and even domestic adoption are under attack from state legislatures. RESOLVE works with local partners and grassroots advocates to fight any attempts to restrict your choice to have a family.
LGBTQ+ Legislation Initiatives
At RESOLVE, we believe that anyone struggling to build a family, including the LGBTQ+ community, should have access to all family building options and are able to reach their resolution.
Covering Fertility Preservation
Each year, tens of thousands of people are diagnosed with cancer in their reproductive years, the majority of which are at risk for iatrogenic (or medically induced) infertility from their cancer treatment. Iatrogenic infertility may also affect people who are undergoing treatment for sickle cell anemia, lupus, and other autoimmune diseases. RESOLVE believes that patients should not have to choose between effective medical treatment and a future chance at parenthood.
Making Adoption Accessible for All
RESOLVE, together with 150 other organizations in the Adoption Tax Credit Working Group advocates that the Adoption Tax Credit (ATC) should be refundable. That way families with lower financial resources can get the benefit of the credit so they can afford to adopt a child in need. It’s an extra little boost that helps bring children and loving parents together.
Helping Veterans
In late 2016, RESOLVE and veteran groups won a significant victory: we got Congress to pass a bill allowing the Veterans Administration (VA) to cover IVF for wounded veterans. BUT — the benefits are good only through September 2019.
Infertility Discrimination
Did you know that infertility discrimination is covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act? Just like pregnancy is protected, so too is infertility discrimination. In 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court stated that reproduction is a “major life activity” and conditions that interfere with reproduction should be regarded as disabilities per the American Disabilities Act. Based on recent settlements, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reinforces the rights of individuals undergoing fertility treatments to have their employers provide reasonable accommodations, including excused absences. Learn more about infertility discrimination at EEOC’s Enforcement Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination and Related Issues (Section I (A)(3)(c). To file a complaint regarding infertility discrimination, visit https://www.eeoc.gov/employees/charge.cfm.