Gay Couple Launches Class-Action Lawsuit Against NYC For IVF Benefits
New York City only provides in vitro fertilization benefits to employees who are women or heterosexuals. A first-of-its-kind class-action lawsuit alleges that policy is discriminatory to gay men.
The Washington Post:
A Gay Couple Couldn’t Access IVF Benefits. They’re Suing New York City.
New York City is denying in vitro fertilization benefits to thousands of gay male employees of the city and their partners, a class-action lawsuit filed by a same-sex married couple alleged Thursday. Brooklyn-based couple Nicholas Maggipinto, 38, and Corey Briskin, 35, claim the city is discriminating against male same-sex couples and violating federal, state and local laws by denying them IVF insurance benefits that other city employees are able to access. (Javaid, 5/9)
Reuters:
NYC Sued For Denying Gay Employees In Vitro Fertilization Coverage
The proposed class action was filed in Manhattan federal court by former assistant district attorney Corey Briskin and his husband, who say they were forced to put off having a family for years because the city's employee health insurance plan denied them coverage for IVF procedures. ... The New York City Council is considering a bill introduced in March that would require the city to cover IVF treatments for all employees, regardless of their marital status or sexual orientation. (Wiessner, 5/9)
In other reproductive health news —
AP:
Virginia Judge To Decide Whether State Law Considers Embryos As Property
A trial is underway in Virginia that will determine whether state law allows frozen embryos to be considered property that can be divided up and assigned a monetary value. Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Dontae Bugg heard arguments Thursday from a divorced couple who disagree over the ex-wife’s desire to use two embryos that they created when they were married. (Barakat, 5/10)
The CT Mirror:
CT Bill On Providing Reproductive Care Info At Religious Hospitals Dies
Leaders in the House and Senate declined to take up a bill this session that would have shielded medical providers at religiously affiliated hospitals and other health care centers who offer referrals and counseling on reproductive care, including abortions. (Carlesso, 5/9)
KFF Health News:
Democrats Seek To Make GOP Pay For Threats To Reproductive Rights
Democrat Lucas Kunce is trying to pin reproductive care restrictions on Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), betting it will boost his chances of unseating the incumbent in November. In a recent ad campaign, Kunce accuses Hawley of jeopardizing reproductive care, including in vitro fertilization. Staring straight into the camera, with tears in her eyes, a Missouri mom identified only as Jessica recounts how she struggled for years to conceive. (Liss, 5/10)
KFF Health News:
Their First Baby Came With Medical Debt. These Illinois Parents Won’t Have Another
Heather Crivilare was a month from her due date when she was rushed to an operating room for an emergency cesarean section. The first-time mother, a high school teacher in rural Illinois, had developed high blood pressure, a sometimes life-threatening condition in pregnancy that prompted doctors to hospitalize her. Then Crivilare’s blood pressure spiked, and the baby’s heart rate dropped. “It was terrifying,” Crivilare said. (Levey, 5/10)
