To improve the reproductive assistance provided by the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to certain members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their spouses or partners, and for other purposes.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill defines key terms for Title I: 'active duty' (per 10 USC 101(d)(1)) and 'Armed Forces' (per 10 USC 101(a)(4)), mandates the Secretary of Defense to provide fertility treatment and counseling to service members, spouses, partners, and gestational surrogates, without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, infertility, and requires the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, to establish procedures for retrieving reproductive genetic material (sperm or oocytes) as soon as medically. It relies on compliance mandates, appropriations, exemptions, and definition changes. The main policy areas are Defense, Healthcare, Veterans Affairs, and Social Welfare.
Who Benefits and How
IVF clinics and fertility treatment providers could gain revenue opportunities, Enrolled veterans could gain revenue opportunities, and LGBTQ+ veterans could face fewer barriers.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Department of Veterans Affairs could face higher costs, Department of Defense could face higher costs, and Military medical facilities and providers would take on compliance duties.
Key Provisions
- Defines key terms for Title I: 'active duty' (per 10 USC 101(d)(1)) and 'Armed Forces' (per 10 USC 101(a)(4)).
- Mandates the Secretary of Defense to provide fertility treatment and counseling to service members, spouses, partners, and gestational surrogates, without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, infertility...
- Requires the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, to establish procedures for retrieving reproductive genetic material (sperm or oocytes) as soon as medically...
- Mandates the Secretary of Defense to provide retrieval, testing, cryopreservation, shipping, and storage of reproductive genetic material for active-duty members prior to deployment to combat zones or hazardous...
- Requires the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Veterans Affairs to share best practices, facilitate referrals, and enter into a memorandum of understanding for: (1) coordination of fertility preservation care...
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
The bill defines key terms for Title I: 'active duty' (per 10 USC 101(d)(1)) and 'Armed Forces' (per 10 USC 101(a)(4)), mandates the Secretary of Defense to provide fertility treatment and counseling to service members, spouses, partners, and gestational surrogates, without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, infertility, and requires the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, to establish procedures for retrieving reproductive genetic material (sperm or oocytes) as soon as medically.
Key Policy Areas
Defense, Healthcare, Veterans Affairs, Social Welfare
Primary Purpose
The bill defines key terms for Title I: 'active duty' (per 10 USC 101(d)(1)) and 'Armed Forces' (per 10 USC 101(a)(4)), mandates the Secretary of Defense to provide fertility treatment and counseling to service members, spouses, partners, and gestational surrogates, without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, infertility, and requires the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, to establish procedures for retrieving reproductive genetic material (sperm or oocytes) as soon as medically.
Policy Domains
Title I -- Reproductive Assistance for Members of the Armed Forces
Identified Gains
- IVF clinics and fertility treatment providers
- Enrolled veterans
- LGBTQ+ veterans
- Gamete banks and donor services
- Fertility pharmaceutical companies
Identified Costs
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Department of Defense
- Military medical facilities and providers
- Veterans Health Administration
- Private cryopreservation facilities (dispute resolution burden)
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Larsen of Washington (for himself, Ms. DelBene, Ms. Sánchez, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Cryopreservation and reproductive material storage companies, Cryopreservation and storage facilities, Gamete banks and donor services
Positive-direction: Cryopreservation and reproductive material storage companies, Cryopreservation and storage facilities, Gamete banks and donor services, Genetic testing laboratories, IVF clinics and fertility treatment providers, Private cryopreservation facilities (post-separation transfers), Reproductive health researchers, Reproductive medicine specialists (andrology, REI), Spouses, partners, and gestational surrogates of service members, Spouses, partners, and gestational surrogates of veterans
Negative-direction: Military medical facilities and providers, Private cryopreservation facilities (dispute resolution burden)
Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, State governments (surrogacy law preemption)
Enrolled veterans, Enrolled veterans pursuing adoption, LGBTQ+ veterans
Active-duty service members, Active-duty service members deploying to combat or hazardous duty, LGBTQ+ service members
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Defense
- "the_assistant_secretary"
- → Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Note: 'The Secretary' refers to the Secretary of Defense in Title I (sections 101-107) but the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in Title II (sections 201-206). Section 106 involves both Secretaries jointly.
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Includes preservation of oocytes/sperm/embryos, artificial insemination, assisted reproductive technology (including IVF), genetic testing of embryos, fertility medications, gamete donation, and other fertility-related services as determined by the Secretary.
An individual selected by the service member who agrees to be a parent, with the member, of a child born as a result of fertility treatment under this section.
Has the meaning given in section 101(d)(1) of title 10, United States Code.
Has the meaning given the term 'armed forces' in section 101(a)(4) of title 10, United States Code.
A veteran enrolled in the VA annual patient enrollment system under section 1705(a) of title 38.
An adult who is not the intended parent who enters a surrogacy agreement to become pregnant through IVF using gametes that are not their own.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology