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Clinics Suing VA and DoD over Access to IVF

Line of people posing in front of a government building
(Left to right) Yael Caplan ’23, Priscilla Smith ’91, Ashley Anderson ’16, Kyra Jasper ’28, Liz Beling ’26, Indu Pandey ’26, Tobey Phillips ’27, Mike Wishnie ’93, and Juliet Isselbacher ’28

National Organization for Women — New York City (NOW-NYC) sued the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on behalf of its members who cannot access in vitro fertilization (IVF), arguing that the agencies’ IVF restrictions are unconstitutional and discriminatory under federal law. The Veterans Legal Services Clinic and Gender and Reproductive Justice Clinic at Yale Law School represent NOW-NYC.

On Feb. 26, attorneys representing the DoD and VA argued in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit for the denial of IVF coverage for military members and veterans in a case on federal appeal. Indu Pandey ’26 and Liz Beling ’26 presented argument on behalf of the service members and veterans who are members of NOW-NYC.

NOW-NYC noted that President Trump has described himself as the “father of IVF” after issuing an executive order in 2025 that directed federal agencies to reduce barriers to fertility care. Service members and veterans experience infertility at higher rates than the general population, according to the amended complaint. But DoD and VA require military families to prove that their infertility is linked to a specific injury or illness incurred during military service, an onerous task given that the causes of infertility are understudied and often unexplained. In effect, DoD and VA policies leave tens of thousands of service members and veterans without medical care to start or grow their families, according to NOW-NYC. 

“These policies are especially harmful for female service members and veterans. VA estimates that female veterans suffer from infertility at four times the national average and more than ten times the rate of male veterans,” said Sonia Ossorio, President of NOW-NYC, the Plaintiff in the litigation. “The cause of female infertility is also over 14 times more likely to be unexplained than in men, making it more challenging to connect to military service.”

“IVF stands alone as one of the only medically necessary procedures for which DoD imposes a service connection requirement,” stated Tobey Phillips ’27, an Army veteran and law student intern with the Veterans Legal Services Clinic, which represents NOW-NYC. “VA singles out IVF as the only form of healthcare with extra restrictions for veterans who otherwise receive all healthcare from VA. These discriminatory rules cost many military families the chance to have children.” 

“After multiple deployments and being exposed to combat stress, toxic chemicals, and high-power radar systems, I’m so frustrated that the military places the impossible burden on me to prove the ‘cause’ of my infertility and to pay for all of my IVF treatments out of pocket,” stated a member of NOW-NYC. “I’m proud of my service, but I'm incredibly disappointed by the lack of support for my fertility struggles from the system designed to help and protect me.”