Veterans who've suffered combat injuries that prevent them from naturally conceiving a child would be able to get in vitro fertilization covered by their VA insurance under new legislation.
Bill author Sen. Patty Murray told the Associated Press that at least 1,830 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have been injured in a way that prevents their ability to reproduce naturally:
"Because they served our country, they now can't have a family, which is part of their dream. I think we now have a responsibility to not take that dream away."
The bill, called the Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2012, is now awaiting a hearing in the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, which Murray chairs.
Earlier this summer, a military wife named Tracy Keil testified before Congress about the VA's fertility coverage. Keil's husband, Staff Sgt. Matthew Keil, was shot in the neck while serving in Iraq. He was left a quadriplegic, and the Keils required IVF in order to start their family. I've posted the video of Keil's moving testimony up top.
