Wisconsin fails families seeking access to IVF. War of words doesn't help women.
Wisconsin was recently Ground Zero for the latest fight in the nation's culture wars when Gov. Evers and his administration sought to amend Wisconsin law to incorporate so-called gender neutral language that replaces words like mother with 'inseminated person.'
There are so many disappointing things about this, but the most significant one is that this obscures one of the most important problems besetting Wisconsin women and would-be mothers: Wisconsin's abject failure to protect in vitro fertilization access or to make it affordable for the nearly 175,000 Wisconsin women who would like to conceive, but have been unable to.
Resolve Wisconsin, the state chapter of the National Infertility Association, gave Wisconsin a C on its fertility scorecard. The grade is too kind. Wisconsin deserves an F for its treatment of women who seek to conceive but cannot.
Nationally, 8 million women ages 25 to 44 face fertility challenges. Fertility treatments like IVF can cost as much as $25,000 per round of treatment. Only one in four American women are covered by insurance plans that will cover IVF.
The CDC reported in 2023 the national fertility rate fell to a historic low of 1,616 births per 1,000 women – far less than the rate needed to maintain the population size.
A birthrate below the replacement rate has profound impacts on everything from the solvency of Social Security to public education and healthcare and tax revenues. In short, our ability to conceive children is a vital national and Wisconsin issue.
Opinion: 'Inseminated person' vs. 'mother'? Dems keep proving they've lost common sense
Despite what you may hear, most women would like to have children. The Pew Research Center reported that in 2023 42% of adults said they had used fertility treatments or personally knew someone who had, a 33% increase from five years prior, according to the research center.
Given the price tag, that means most of these women are affluent. All women should have access to the means to conceive.
Wisconsin has dragged its heels. When the Building Families Act was introduced to recognize infertility as a disease and expand access and remove economic barriers to fertility treatments, it went nowhere. Worse yet:
21 states have passed fertility insurance coverage laws. Wisconsin hasn't.
Many of these states have passed IVF protection laws. Wisconsin hasn't.
Infertility affects women of color at even higher rates than white women, but despite this, Black women are less likely to have access to treatment and if they do, may wait twice as long for help.
How badly has Wisconsin failed its women who seek to become mothers? Illinois has done more than Wisconsin. Seven years ago, it passed a law that required health insurance companies to cover the preservation of eggs, sperm and embryos for cancer patients. Four years ago, the state extended infertility treatment coverage to LGBTQ+ families, single people and women with specific health issues.
We are at a rare inflection point of bipartisan agreement. During the 2024 presidential campaign, both Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump supported access to and lowering of IVF costs. In February, President Trump issued an executive order to advance IVF. Democratic and Republican senators have introduced IVF bills.
Opinion: Bipartisan bill to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage deserves vote in Assembly
Yet Wisconsin does . . . nothing, except waste time on 'inseminated person' language, which, by the way, is medically incorrect.
Speaking in Wausau, Gov. Evers said, 'What we want is legal certainty that moms will be able to get the care they need. That's it, end of story.'
Right now in Wisconsin, they don't get the care they need. Wisconsin must protect women who face fertility challenges. That's the end of the story.
Wisconsin used to revere Mom and apple pie. The apple pies are doing fine. Motherhood needs help. Evers and state lawmakers can provide it.
Dr. Mana Baskovic is a board-certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist fertility expert in California who has worked with women to help them conceive through precise surgeries with quicker recoveries and less risk than traditional OBGYNs. She is also the Chief Medical Officer of lushi fertility.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin women want children. IVF costs aren't covered | Opinion
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