Family Law

Having A Baby Could Become A Little Easier In A Certain Maple-Syrup Loving State

This state is vying to become the next to provide support to residents facing infertility.

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No. Not Vermont. The other triangle-shaped state that you always confuse with Vermont when looking at a map.

Did you know that New Hampshire declared independence from England six months before the signing of the Declaration of Independence? Impressive. Now the Granite State is vying to become the 17th state in the Union to provide support to residents facing infertility.

Last Thursday, the New Hampshire State Senate heard testimony on the proposed Bill 279 — awkwardly titled “An Act Relative to Access to Fertility Care.” The testimony was overwhelmingly in support of the bill, and reportedly well received by lawmakers. I asked Catherine Tucker, a New Hampshire assisted reproductive technology attorney and one of the drafters of the bill, about how the law may provide New Hampshire residents with fertility-related diagnoses, treatment, and preservation.

Sometimes You Have To Spend Money To Save Money

It’s an unfortunate reality that for most individuals and couples facing infertility, the treatment is overwhelmingly expensive. That’s especially true when it comes to in vitro fertilization (IVF). And it’s a known problem that the price tag causes many couples to take chances and incur risks that they wouldn’t otherwise. Specifically, many couples elect to transfer more than one embryo at a time, drastically increasing the chance of multiples (twins, triplets, and even more!). While a handful of parents think this is a great deal (two for one!), the reality doesn’t live up to the hype.

Instead, the risk of complications during a “multiples pregnancy,” as well as premature birth and complications with the babies, ends up creating even greater costs. In fact, the bill describes how “with insurance benefits, patients are known to make health care decisions based on appropriate medical advice rather than financial concerns, and thus transfer fewer embryos per cycle. This can result in a savings of $80,000 or more per pregnancy in maternity care and neonatal care costs.” That’s some serious savings.

Stop Losing Employees to Neighboring States

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Of the six New England states, three (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut) already offer fertility coverage. Testimony was provided that New England has lost from its workforce New Hampshire residents suffering from infertility, who felt there was no other option but to find jobs across state lines in the more supportive neighboring state of Massachusetts. Ouch. Not great for the state’s economy. I guess not everyone can work in New Hampshire at Starbucks — a company famous for its fertility benefits.

Cancer Sucks, And This Just Makes It Worse

Tucker described one of the elements of the bill that’s still missing, compared to other states’ fertility coverage — fertility preservation. Currently, when a woman is diagnosed with cancer, she is frequently required to make an immediate decision as to whether to try to preserve her fertility through an egg retrieval procedure. That procedure has to happen before she starts chemo or radiation to combat the cancer.

Aside from this decision needing to be made without much time for consideration, it comes with a serious price tag. At a minimum, you’re generally talking $10,000 or more. That’s a lot of clams … chowder. Without fertility access, such as that provided in Bill 279, for many cancer victims fertility preservation may not be an option financially. Bill 279 allows a woman to make a medically recommended decision without finances being the main driver. So that’s great news to those cancer-surviving future moms out there!

Kudos to Tucker and her fellow drafters and advocates for supporting the families of New Hampshire. Hopefully, this bill will soon be law. When it does, it will be an even bigger deal than New England winning the Super Bowl. And hopefully we will see the states with fertility access continue to grow.

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Ellen TrachmanEllen Trachman is the Managing Attorney of Trachman Law Center, LLC, a Denver-based law firm specializing in assisted reproductive technology law, and co-host of the podcast I Want To Put A Baby In You. You can reach her at babies@abovethelaw.com.

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