Veterans and advocates sue DoD, VA over fertility policies

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Veterans and advocates sue DoD, VA over fertility policies
By Georgina DiNardo
Aug 2, 03:46 PM
Fertility clinics have put a new twist on how to make babies: A "two-mom" approach that lets female same-sex couples share the biological role. One woman's eggs are mixed in a lab dish with donor sperm, then implanted in the other woman who carries the pregnancy. (AP File)

Veterans and civil rights advocates filed two lawsuits against the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs Wednesday, alleging they were denied federal aid for in-vitro fertilization because of issues like their marital status, sexual orientation and the extent of their service injuries.

“For years, VA and DoD have enforced discriminatory policies harming service members and veterans,” said Sonia Ossorio, president of the New York City chapter of the National Organization for Women, filing one lawsuit in Manhattan and one in Boston, together with the Yale Law School Veterans Legal Services Clinic and the National Veterans Legal Services Program. “These members sacrificed for this country. They should not have to sacrifice their right to build a family.”

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