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0 IRMS NJ & ASRM Announce: Urgent Calls Needed to Capitol Hill on IVF Amendment
ACT Today!
There is a serious issue being acted on right now in congress that will have serious ramifications for everyone considering IVF treatment. My congressman, Rodney Frelinghuysen who represents Livingston and other nearby towns (11th district) is on this committee – please call (202) 225-5034 and ask him to vote NO on the Harris/Fortenberry IVF amendment which bans federal funding of IVF if any embryos are discarded or destroyed – even abnormal embryos.
I just called my Congressman as a physician to vote no on this amendment. Join me in having Congress hear our collective voice.
Don’t wait. This is happening now!
See more details in the release from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
ASRM has learned this a.m. that an amendment will be offered during a committee mark up that is happening NOW on Capitol Hill. The amendment is being offered by Rep. Harris (R-MD) and Rep. Fortenberry (R-NE) and is supported by several right to life organizations opposed to the federal government paying for IVF care.
The amendment is being offered during the House Appropriations Committee’s consideration of a bill to fund the Labor-HHS- and Education Departments. It will prohibit federal funding of IVF in which any embryo is discarded or destroyed. This is in direct response to our lobbying efforts to lift the ban at the Department of VA on coverage of IVF services and to allow wounded veterans to receive this care.
We need you to call the Members of Congress who serve on the House Appropriations Committee and ask they vote NO on the Harris/Fortenberry IVF amendment. If you practice medicine in a state that is represented by a Member of Congress on this committee please call the Capitol Hill switchboard ASAP (202) 225-3121 and ask to be connected to the Member(s) of Congress on this list from your state. You should ask to speak to (or leave a vmail for) the Appropriations or Veterans Affairs staff person.
These Members of Congress (http://appropriations.house.gov/about/members/) need to hear from you that:
- IVF, like all medical procedures, involves some risk.
- Not all embryos are suitable for transfer.
- Even those embryos that are frozen may not survive the thaw process.
- Couples should not have to pay indefinately to freeze embryos that they will not consider for family building purposes.
- The goal of IVF is a healthy pregnancy outcome, not the transfer of every embryo created or the transfer of embryos that are not viable.
- Why is it in the government’s interest to force couples to transfer all embryos or freeze them all indefinately?
Questions? Contact Erin Kramer at (202) 863-4984. Also please send Erin an email with feedback you receive from these offices to ekramer@asrm.org.
