Few states cover fertility treatment for same-sex couples, but that could be changing

‘Elective procedure’?

But some lawmakers are skeptical of expanding the definition of infertility to include same-sex couples. That was evident at a hearing on the Connecticut bill earlier this month, where Republican state Rep. Cara Pavalock-D’Amato noted that “infertility isn’t necessarily elective, but having a baby is.”

“Now, we are changing definitions to cover elective procedures,” Pavalock-D’Amato said. “If we’re changing the definition for this elective procedure, then why not others as well?”

She added: “Infertility, whether you are straight or gay, up to this point has been a requirement. Now, is it through this bill that we are no longer requiring people to be sick? They no longer have to be infertile?”

But proponents of the change argue that extending IVF mandates to cover same-sex couples is a question of fairness.

“I don’t think anybody in the LGBTQ community is asking for more. They’re just asking for the same benefit, and it is discriminatory to say, ‘You don’t get the same benefit as your colleague simply because you have a same-sex partner,’” Leondires said in an interview.

“If you’re paying to the same health care system as the person sitting next to you, then you should have the same benefit,” he said.

Elizabeth and Rebecca Bauer, who are busy decorating a nursery and buying baby clothes, recognize that they were fortunate to have the money to pursue IVF even without insurance coverage, and that “there are plenty of people who don’t have the time or the ability.”

“There are so many ways that people who want to build a family might struggle,” Elizabeth said, adding that the previous infertility definition felt like a “pretty impossible barrier” for non-straight couples. “Insurance should make building a family possible for any person or persons who want to.”