Media Center

We Still Can't Stop The Biological Clock
Op-Ed By Zev Rosenwaks in June 24, 200 New York Times

"There is nothing yet in medicine's portfolio that can guarantee women in their fourth, fifth and sixth decades that they will reproduce."
(Webmaster's note:

Risky Business: Patients Purchasing Unlicensed Fertility Medications Over the Internet
Medications Often Ineffective, Crippling Couples' Attempts to Achieve Pregnancy

Hopeful Mothers Advocate For Insurance Coverage In Albany
Hopeful mothers and pro-family advocates from across NY State stage 'Empty Stroller Rally' in Albany to support insurance coverage for infertility treatment.

Fertility Doctor Jury Deadlocks
By Associated Press [NY Times March 6th, 2000]

A federal jury was unable to reach a verdict in the insurance fraud trial of a prominent fertility doctor on Monday, deadlocking after seven days of deliberations. A mistrial was declared.

Review on Risks of Diabetes Drug
By Holcomb B. Noble [NY Times February 23, 2000]
The Food and Drug Administration is investigating a recent increase in deaths caused by the diabetes drug Rezulin

State Senate Approves Bill To Insure Some Treatments for Infertility
By Raymond Hernandez  [NY Times February 9, 2000]

The Republicans in the state Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would require health insurance companies to pay for some infertility treatments, potentially setting the stage for negotiations with Assembly Democrats who have adopted their own version of the legislation.

Both Houses of NY State Legislature pass bills to cover infertility
An effort initiated more than a year ago by advocates for couples with infertility has led the New York State Assembly and Senate to each pass bills (A. 7303 / S. 3131) that will help more New Yorkers to have access to insurance coverage for the treatment of infertility.

Fraud Case Draws Attention to Lack of Infertility Coverage
By Jennifer Steinhauer  [NY Times January 23, 2000]
In what legal experts say is new territory for health care fraud cases, Dr. Lauersen is accused of billing insurance companies for routine gynecological procedures to cover for what he was really doing: fertility surgeries for women who could not otherwise get pregnant.

AIA cautions couples on use of SART report
The American Infertility Association cautions infertile couples not to make treatment decisions based solely on IVF Center success rates published by the CDC

Doctors debate ways to prevent multiple births
Should doctors refuse to continue with infertility treatment when a multiple birth is likely? Should insurance companies expand their coverage of infertility treatment? These questions are addressed by two specialists in the December issue of the journal Fertility and Sterility.

Viagra Can Aid Infertility Treatment
The medication also may be helpful for couples who are undergoing treatment for infertility, researchers in Israel report.

Most Americans believe health care coverage should include costs of infertility treatment, according to a Peter Hart survey
In one of the first US surveys conducted to capture attitudes and perceptions surrounding infertility in the U.S., the number one reason for supporting coverage was based on the belief that all infertile couples, and not just those who can afford appropriate treatment, should have access to it.

ORGANON representatives recognized at American Infertility Association's Kokopelli Ball for outstanding commitment to infertility advocacy

AIA Opposes Proposed Legislation in New Jersey
A press release by AIA from November 10, 1999 in response to proposed legislation in New Jersey that would prohibit the sale of himan eggs, sperm and embryos.

JAMA article: Live-Birth Rates and Multiple-Birth Risk Using In Vitro Fertilization

In Vol.282 No. 19, November 17, 1999 of the Journals of the American Medical Association, JAMA, Laura A. Schieve, PhD; Herbert B. Peterson, MD; Susan F. Meikle, MD; Gary Jeng, PhD; Isabella Danel, MD; Nancy M. Burnett, BS; Lynne S. Wilcox, MD publish the results of their study which "examines associations between the number of embryos transferred during IVF and live-birth and multiple-birth rates stratified by maternal age". 

 
by Larry Lipshultz, M.D. and David Adamson M.D.

AIA Supports New Guidelines To Help Reduce Multiple Births

ORGANON Inc. commends new guidelines on limiting number of embryos transferred to reduce risk of multiple births

Experiment Seeks to Protect Ovaries From Cancer Treatment
By Denise Grady  [NY Times October 26, 1999]

In an experimental operation last Thursday that one doctor called "great work"; but another called "preposterous", surgeons in Brooklyn removed a woman's ovaries, sliced them into thin strips and implanted them into her arm.

Buying Time for Women on the Biological Clock
By Sheryl Gay Stolberg  [NY Times October 3, 1999]

The tale of modern baby-making is a genre that began in 1978 with the birth of the first test-tube baby, Louise Brown. The drama typically unfolds as follows: Whiz-bang scientists develop new technique (in vitro fertilization, donated eggs, frozen eggs, frozen ovaries) that makes it possible for childless woman (subtext: old childless woman) to conceive. Media circus ensues. Ethicists ponder potential abuse. Media circus subsides. Family life goes on

U.S. Agency (EEOC) Says Employer Should Pay for a Woman's Infertility Treatments
By Randy Kennedy  [NY Times April 29, 1998]

In a decision hailed as a major legal victory for infertile couples, a Federal agency has ruled that a national publishing company violated disabilities laws by refusing to pay for an employee's infertility treatments.

Making a Case for Infertility Coverage by Insurers
By Jane Gross  [NY Times December 7, 1998]

A bold decision to sue her employer could turn the tide for Ms. Saks and others like her. She is among a small but growing band of plaintiffs who have filed class action complaints with the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, charging that denying medical coverage for infertility treatments is unlawful discrimination.

AIDs Virus Case Opens Door for Infertile
By Esther B. Fein  [NY Times July 5, 1998]
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 last month that reproduction was a "major life activity" and that when a person's ability to reproduce is substantially limited, she (or he) meets the definition of disability under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Court Says Law Bars Discrimination Against H.I.V.-Infected
By Linda Greenhouse [NY Times June 26, 1998]
The majority held that the woman's decision ..... brought her within the law's definition of disability: an impairment that "substantially limits" one or more "major life activities." Reproduction is such an activity, Kennedy said.

For Infertility Treatments, Now You're Covered, Now You're Not
By Anne Adams Lang [NY Times Junel 21, 1998]
Insurance carriers are mostly like poltergeists haunting the field of reproductive medicine. They materialize with ephemeral policies that are changed or are withdrawn in a flash.

Influential Panel Urges Big Changes in the Regulation of Infertility
By Lawrence K. Altman [NY Times April 29, 1998]
The New York State Task Force on Life and the Law is urging sweeping changes in the regulation of new fertility technologies, including more steps to reduce the incidence of multiple births.

Calling Infertility a Disease, Couples Battle With Insurers
By Esther B. Fein [NY Times February 22, 1998]
A growing number of couples are facing severe financial crises as scientists develop new treatments to combat physical problems that prevent pregnancy.

Aetna Halting Health Coverage for Costly Fertility Treatments
By Milt Freudenheim [NY Times January 10, 1998]
Aetna Inc., one of the nation's biggest health insurers, says its U.S. Healthcare plans to eliminate coverage for advanced fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization.