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Administration Officials Discuss Fertility Rates and IVF Coverage at Maternal Health Event
Officials at a maternal health care event addressed declining fertility rates in the United States and announced a proposal for employers to offer coverage for in-vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments. Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited sperm count changes and environmental factors as contributing to what he described as a national crisis.
May 12, 4:38 PM·2m read1 source
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gov, a website aimed at new and expecting mothers that provides resources including information on anti-abortion pregnancy centers and workplace hazards for expecting mothers. The site features imagery of a young woman who is pregnant. At a maternal health care event on Monday, officials announced a proposal for employers to offer a health care coverage option for in-vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments, which are not included under most insurance plans.
The proposal would not require employers to provide such coverage. Officials stated that expanding fertility options for women remains a priority. Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the country is undergoing a fertility crisis that represents a threat to the national economy and security.
He cited endocrine disrupting chemicals, pesticides and other contributors to hormonal imbalances. Kennedy referred to a statistic that men in 1970 had twice the sperm count that teenagers have today and called it an existential crisis for the country.
>"It takes systemic change to turn America’s birth rates around. " — White House spokesperson Kush Desai (Wired) A White House spokesperson told Wired that the administration is examining chronic health issues that affect fertility as well as policies related to childcare, health care and housing affordability.
Kennedy has repeated the sperm count claim multiple times during his tenure.
Wiltshire, a fertility specialist at Columbia University Fertility Center, said the research underlying the sperm count claim has been debunked by more contemporary studies. A meta-analysis published last year in the Journal of Fertility and Sterility found that sperm count among men had not declined between 1970 and 2023 but remained relatively stable.
