In response to the lawsuit, the New York City Council is calling on Mayor Eric Adams to take action and expand in vitro fertilization (IVF) coverage to gay male city employees.
The Assembly’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus wrote Adams last week saying gay men are denied the benefits given to heterosexual couples and single women. They argue that the statutory definition of “infertility” is “exclusionary and outdated” and denies gay men access to IVF.
“As City Council members, we strongly believe that family formation benefits should be available to all employees and should not be contingent on a definition of heterosexual infertility,” the group said in the letter, which was first reported by Politico. “While the City’s discriminatory policies predate this Administration, this Administration can fix this problem.”
The problem, according to the group, is that the city’s health insurance only covers IVF cycles for employees who can provide proof of infertility, which is defined as “the inability to conceive a child through unprotected sexual intercourse between a man and a woman.”
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The New York City Council is calling on Mayor Eric Adams to expand in vitro fertilization benefits to gay male city employees. (Fox News Photo/Joshua Cummins)
Because men cannot become pregnant, a 2020 state law requiring insurance plans to cover three cycles of IVF does not provide IVF coverage to gay male couples. The group is calling on Mayor Adams to act immediately to remedy this injustice by updating the city’s health plans and providing reimbursement for all gay men who have been denied IVF benefits in the past.
The letter came after a gay male employee sued the city last month, alleging discrimination after being denied insurance coverage for IVF treatment. Former Assistant District Attorney Corey Briskin and his husband filed the lawsuit, alleging that a lack of financial support forced them to postpone their IVF plans.
The lawsuit argues that withholding insurance coverage for IVF violates the city’s guarantee against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, as well as equal rights and due process protections in the U.S. Constitution.
According to Politico, the LGBTQIA+ Caucus letter cited Briskin’s case and urged Adams to support legislation that would require the city to pay for assisted reproductive services and adoptions for city employees without requiring an infertility diagnosis.
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New York City is facing a class action lawsuit alleging discrimination against gay male employees who were denied in vitro fertilization medical benefits that are available to heterosexual couples and single women. (David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
“We expect Mayor Adams to see the great leadership the City Council has shown on this issue,” Briskin’s attorney, Peter Romer Friedman, told the outlet.
A spokesperson for the mayor’s office told Politico that city health insurance covers IVF treatments for city employees “regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation,” but that coverage is determined by state rules and guidelines. The city does not pay for costs associated with egg or sperm donation or surrogacy, the spokesperson said.
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New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ office told Politico that the city does not provide insurance for egg or sperm donation or surrogacy. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriye, File)
The issue of in vitro fertilization has come under scrutiny in recent months due to questions about how the practice relates to abortion regulations.
A ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court has forced three state-run fertility clinics to stop offering in vitro fertilization services. The Alabama ruling: National Republicans While support for IVF has grown, some conservatives have argued that the issue is better left to the states.
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But Democrats have used the ruling as a political cudgel against the right, arguing that Republicans will crack down on IVF access and reproductive health measures nationwide, which the right denies.
One cycle of IVF treatment can cost anywhere from $15,000 to $30,000, depending on the clinic and the patient’s medical history. Briskin and other gay male employees can only access IVF through surrogacy.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
