Today, Representatives Rick Larsen (D, WA-02) and Sara Jacobs (D, CA-51), along with U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) reintroduced their Veteran Families Health Services Act of 2025. This comprehensive legislation would expand the fertility treatments and family-building services that are covered under servicemembers’ and veterans’ health care to include—among other things—in vitro fertilization (IVF) and adoption assistance, for servicemembers and veterans who are unable to conceive without assistance, and the option for individuals to freeze their eggs or sperm ahead of deployment to a combat zone.

While the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) currently offer some forms of fertility treatment and counseling, these offerings are extraordinarily limited and difficult for veterans to access, even when they are technically eligible—and far too often, these benefits fail to meet the needs of servicemembers and veterans. Veterans and servicemembers experience higher rates of infertility than civilians, and encounter restrictive laws and policies and DoD and VA before they can access IVF services.

“America’s women and men in uniform should have access to high-quality, affordable options to grow their families," said Representative Rick Larsen. “Congress should take the long-overdue step of permanently overturning outdated limitations on IVF and other fertility treatments for veterans and service members. No one should be forced to choose between serving their country and starting their family."

The Veteran Families Health Services Act of 2025 would expand VA and DoD’s current fertility treatment and counseling offerings in a major way and empower servicemembers and veterans to start or grow their families when the time is right for them. This legislation would:

• Allow servicemembers to cryopreserve (freeze) their gametes (eggs or sperm) before deployment to a combat zone or hazardous duty assignment and after an injury or illness—an important proactive fertility service that is not currently covered under DoD health care.
• Permanently authorize and significantly expand fertility treatment and counseling options, including assisted reproductive technology like IVF, to more veterans and servicemembers and ensure that veterans’ and servicemembers’ spouses, partners, and gestational surrogates are appropriately included in eligibility rules.
• Right now, only individuals who are married to opposite-sex partners that can provide gametes for IVF are eligible for IVF services under DoD or VA health care—this excludes all unmarried veterans and servicemembers whose partners are infertile, the same sex, or unable to provide gametes. This legislation would allow veterans and servicemembers to use gestational surrogates for covered IVF services for the very first time. Additionally, the legislation would remove onerous burdens of proof that currently make it very difficult for many veterans to access IVF services even when they do meet the requirements.
• Expand adoption assistance at VA, providing more family-building options for veterans with infertility.
• Provide support for servicemembers and veterans to navigate their fertility options, find a provider that meets their needs, and ensure continuity of care after a permanent change of station or relocation.
• Require VA and DoD to facilitate research on the long-term reproductive health needs of veterans.

The Veteran Families Health Services Act is supported by RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).

A one-pager about the bill can be found here, and the full text of the bill can be found here. More information about the bill is available here.

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