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On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law an estimated $2 trillion relief package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.The omnibus legislation, the largest of its kind, includes support for hospitals, loans for small businesses and an expansion of unemployment insurance.
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The Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, the United States’ primary organization of professionals dedicated to the practice of assisted reproductive technologies (ART), is releasing its latest national and clinic-specific ART data today.
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As the federal government and nearly every state and municipality actively work to put in place programs to support businesses such as yours in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, ASRM is keeping an eye out for you and weighing in, as appropriate, with key authorities and decision-makers.
Here are just a few of the opportunities available to you to receive financial support and assistance at this challenging time.
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The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), the global leader in reproductive medicine, today issues new guidance for its members as they manage patients in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Developed by an expert Task Force, of physicians, embryologists, and mental health professionals, the new document recommends suspension of new, non-urgent treatments.
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A new strain of corona virus emerged in China in late 2019, producing a respiratory infection, that can severe consequences, including death, especially in the older population. COVID-19, as the disease is now known, has been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. There have been over 100,000 cases throughout the world and the WHO expects the virus to emerge in every country.
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As the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spreads around the world and throughout the USA, our professional community and policymakers, and the public in general, are seeking advice regarding how to manage patients who are undergoing or who are planning to undergo infertility treatment.
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The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) announced today that the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board has renewed the ASRM’s status as a Non-State Actor (NSA) in official relations with the WHO. In this role, the ASRM is one of the few organizations worldwide assisting the WHO in achieving its global health objectives.
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NIH has requested public input on a framework for the 2021-2025 NIH-Wide Strategic Plan, which will build on the earlier NIH-Wide Strategic Plan to guide NIH’s research efforts over the next five years. We encourage members to submit comments, which are due March 25, on the RFI submission site, and ask that you bring to ASRM’s timely attention any matters you deem of critical importance for our awareness as we prepare our own comments.
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Patients, including prospective oocyte and sperm donors, as well as gestational carriers, who meet the diagnostic criteria for COVID-19 infection should avoid becoming pregnant. If they are undergoing active infertility treatment, we suggest that these patients consider freezing all oocytes or embryos and avoiding an embryo transfer until they are disease-free.
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The FDA continues to work closely with CDC and other federal and international agencies to monitor the evolving outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) that was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
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Washington, DC – The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) the global leader in multidisciplinary reproductive medicine research, ethical practice, and education, announced today it was joining with other leading organizations in the Reproductive Genetics Technology Consortium.
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ASRM has joined several leading national medical and public health organizations including AMA and ACOG, on an amicus brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in the case of Reproductive Health Serices of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Regional, et al. V. Governor Michael L. Parson, et al.
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“We applaud the WNBA for providing comprehensive family building benefits to their veteran players. Like all employees, female athletes deserve the opportunity to build their families, and to have access to whatever services they may need to assist them as they do it.
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New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a fertility preservation mandate (S2133) into law today as part of a legislative package fighting New Jersey’s maternal and infant health crisis. This makes New Jersey the ninth state to pass a fertility preservation statute. This bill was intended to strengthen the 2017 update to New Jersey’s IVF mandate. The new law applies to health insurance policies and contracts that are delivered, renewed, extended, or modified in the state by any hospital service corporation, medical service corporation, health service corporation, health maintenance organization, or group health insurance policy with more than 50 people, as well as state and school employee’s health benefits commission.
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ASRM supports the increased funding for NIH included in the FY20 spending package and applauds Congress and the President for enacting this important investment in patients, families, and researchers.
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ASRM, as part of a group of 14 leading national medical and public health organizations including AMA and ACOG, filed an amicus brief this week in the Supreme Court of the United States in the case June Medical Services, LLC v. Gee urging the Court to uphold their ruling in Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt.
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Results from a Danish nationwide cohort study suggest that consistent dietary vitamin D supplementation significantly increases the chances a woman diagnosed with infertility will have a live birth.
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ASRM is pleased to announce that its flagship journal, Fertility and Sterility, will soon be joined by three sister publications: F&S Reports, F&S Science, and F&S Reviews.
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This week, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York struck down a Trump administration rule that would have allowed health care workers- ranging from physicians and nurses to receptionists and EMTs- to deny patient care if it conflicted with their personal religious or moral beliefs and would have allowed them to withhold referral to another provider with no such objections.
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Philadelphia, PA – Research presented at the 75th Scientific Congress and Expo of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine reveals interesting patterns about how women use contraception now, and what their preferences might be moving forward.
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Philadelphia, PA—Today, at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s 77th Scientific Congress and Expo, US and Egyptian researchers presented a prospective cohort study showing for the first time that letrozole, an aromatase inhibitor, is as effective as methotrexate as a medical treatment to end ectopic pregnancy.
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Philadelphia, PA - Offering prospective parents of Ashkenazi Jewish background an expanded panel of carrier screening for genetic disorders could help decrease even further the transmission of certain autosomal recessive conditions to children.
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Philadelphia, PA- Abnormal menstrual cycle characteristics- irregularity and extra-long cycle length- are associated with greater risk of mortality according to a study presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s 75th Scientific Congress and Expo. In a prospective cohort study, researchers from Harvard and Tongji Medical College in China teamed up to analyze data on 93,775 women, followed for the years 1991 to 2013 as part of the Nurses Health Study II.
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Philadelphia, PA—Today, at the 75th Scientific Congress and Expo of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, researchers presented a study of families of gestational carriers (GCs) in which they found that the majority of GCs’ children surveyed reported positive emotions about the surrogacy experience.
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Philadelphia, PA-- New results from The Women’s Health Study: From Adolescence to Adulthood (A2A) presented at ASRM’s 75th annual Scientific Congress and Expo reveal that in addition to having a hereditary component, the odds a young woman will be diagnosed with endometriosis are influenced by early life exposures, like whether or not she was breastfed or if her parents smoked during pregnancy or around their children.
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Philadelphia, PA- ASRM is excited to announce our new President, Catherine Racowsky Ph.D., HCLD. Dr. Racowsky is currently the Director of the ART Laboratory at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Harvard Medical School. She served as ASRM’s secretary for eleven years before transitioning to Vice President.
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ASRM is delighted to announce the new affiliated society presidents and new directors joining the Board.
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Philadelphia, PA—The American Society for Reproductive Medicine is pleased to announce the winners of the awards for Scientific Congress Prize Papers and Prize Posters for the 75th annual Scientific Congress and Expo.
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Philadelphia, PA – Researchers from New York University presented research today at the 75th Scientific Congress of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine showing that African-American and Hispanic women with cancer were less likely to utilize fertility preserving treatments than white women.
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Philadelphia, PA- Researchers shared results today, at the 75th Annual Scientific Congress of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, that most egg donors surveyed reported positive feelings about their donation experience and continuing good health years after their donation. Dr. Jennifer Blackmore and her colleagues analyzed responses to an anonymous survey completed by 36 egg donors who donated between 2008 and 2019 at New York University’s Langone Fertility Center.
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Philadelphia, PA- A preliminary analysis of results from an online survey show that men in the United States know somewhat less about fertility and infertility treatment than women do and are particularly optimistic- or confused- when it comes to what they think they know about female fertility and age.
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Philadelphia, PA- Embryos from pre-diabetic patients are more than twice as likely to have sex chromosome aneuploidies than embryos from patients with normal levels of glycated hemoglobin.
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Philadelphia, Pa – Research presented at the 75th Scientific Congress of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine today showed that many patients are still not covered for their infertility despite the passage of infertility insurance mandates by the states.
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Philadelphia, PA- Today, at the 75th Annual Scientific Congress and Expo of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, researchers from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center presented results from a retrospective cohort study in which they compared Assisted Reproductive Technology outcomes in women under 38 years of age from the two years before and the two years after the 2017 revision of the ASRM/SART embryo transfer recommendations. The data showed a significant reduction in the number of embryos transferred and in twin pregnancy rates, but no reduction in over all live birth rates after the new recommendations were published and implemented.
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Washington, DC– The ASRM Research Institute, a new research arm of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, announced today that Thomas S. Kosala MD of Honolulu, HI, a Life Member of the ASRM, was making a million-dollar gift to the new institute.
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Philadelphia, PA – Research presented today at the 75th Scientific Congress of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine revealed that there is an association between marijuana use of the father and miscarriage.
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Philadelphia, PA- Utah researchers presented a study today at ASRM’s 75th Scientific Congress and Expo showing that there is a relationship between a man’s total motile sperm count (TMC) as a marker of fertility, and the number of offspring his ancestors had through several generations. The better an individual’s TMC, the more children his ancestors had.
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Philadelphia, PA – Research presented today at the 75th Scientific Congress of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine showed that while there had been a slight uptick in the use of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) among African American women over the last decade, significant disparities remain.
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Philadelphia, PA – The ongoing debate about the safety of caffeine use during pregnancy got another data point today at the 75th Scientific Congress of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. A team at the National Institutes of Health presented a study showing that the use of any level of caffeine, particularly during the first eight weeks of pregnancy, may increase the risk of pregnancy loss.
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Philadelphia, PA- In the largest study to date examining the usefulness of preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A), for patients with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), Rutgers researchers report that PGT-A is associated with significant improvements in live birth, clinical pregnancy, and spontaneous abortion rates, especially in women over the age of 35.
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Philadelphia, PA – A study of nearly 300 infertility patients undergoing Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) were enrolled in a clinical study to evaluate the effectiveness of certain nutritional supplements. The investigators found that the patients receiving the supplements had increased embryo implantation rates, higher clinical pregnancy rates and lower miscarriage rates than those in the control group.
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Washington, DC – The American Society for Reproductive Medicine, a major medical association celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, announced today it was moving its main headquarters from Birmingham, AL to Washington DC. The move comes in reaction to new laws in Alabama restricting access to reproductive medical services.
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The ASRM 75th Anniversary Gala to be held in Philadelphia on October 13th is completely sold out.
We look forward to this very special event. If you were unable to get a ticket for this year’s gala, stay tuned for information on a similar event at the ASRM 2020 Scientific Congress & Expo in Portland.
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Washington DC – The American Society for Reproductive Medicine today announced its 2019 ASRM Research Grants. The grants provide funds in amounts of $10,000 to $50,000 to foster the development of innovative research, to facilitate the research endeavors of new investigators, and to provide bridge funding for projects that advance the Society’s mission. Proposals from junior faculty, particularly those in their first three years of faculty appointment, received priority in the competitive review by the ASRM Research Committee.
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On August 1st, Republican Governor Chris Sununu of New Hampshire signed SB 279 into law. This bill, passed by the legislature in late June, will expand insurance coverage for fertility care by requiring employer-sponsored plans to cover the care as well as the storage of sperm, eggs and embryos for the length of the policy. Group plans will also be required to cover fertility preservation for patients who must undergoe medically necessary treatment that may cause iatrogenic infertility. The new law will take effect on January 1, 2020.
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On July 12th, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2020 by a vote of 220-197. The House version of the NDAA includes language calling for a Study on Infertility Among Members of the Armed Forces no later than 180 days after enactment. The findings will then be reported back to the members of the House Committee on Armed Services. The study will assess the number of members of the Armed Forces serving as of the date of the study who are diagnosed with common causes of infertility, such as:
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The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) today announced the appointment of Ricardo Azziz, MD, MPH, MBA to serve as the Society’s Chief Executive Officer beginning in January 2020.
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Today, ASRM joined with 30 other healthcare organizations, to file amicus briefs in three states, Washington, Oregon and California, all within the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit Court, in cases against HHS Secretary Alex Azar.
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Today, ASRM joined with nine other healthcare organization, led by ACOG, to file an amicus brief with the US Supreme Court in the case June Medical Services LLC v. Rebekah Gee.
In September 2018, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overruled a challenge to a Louisiana law requiring that physicians providing abortion care have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their clinics. The Louisiana law they upheld is virtually identical to the Texas law found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Whole Women’s Health vs. Texas in 2016.
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Washington, DC-- The Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act (HR 2803 and S 1461) just introduced in Congress will require all health plans offered on the group and individual markets to provide coverage for the treatment of infertility. The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, TRICARE, the VA and Medicaid are also included under the Act. In addition, the Act will require coverage for fertility preservation services for individuals who undergo a medically necessary procedure that may cause infertility, such as chemotherapy.
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This year’s turnout was the largest to date, with 233 patients and professionals- members of ASRM and RESOLVE from 29 states and the District of Columbia- in Washington, DC yesterday to meet with their Senators and Representatives to let them know how they can help Americans build their families via support for legislation important to the infertility community. Before heading out to the Hill, advocates heard first hand from Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a long-time champion of legislation to help the infertility community, about her personal infertility and cancer journeys, and her call to action.
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I am writing on behalf of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) to urge you to veto HB 314 which criminalizes physicians’ efforts to provide needed medical care to their patients.
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The Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine has updated two of its opinions: “Fertility treatment when the prognosis is very poor or futile” and “Interests, obligations, and rights in gamete and embryo donation.”
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French researchers have identified a promising protective effect of oral contraceptives on the bone health of young women with anorexia nervosa. Along with the gynecological disorders resulting from anorexia, patients experience bone loss with intense demineralization early in the course of the disease. This study shows for the first time that anorexia patients using oral contraceptives (OCs) have a higher areal bone mineral density than those who do not use OCs and suggests that, while regularly taking an oral contraceptive will not confer complete protection, it may help to limit bone loss in young women suffering from anorexia nervosa.
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ASRM is proud to announce that we have entered into an agreement with RESOLVE: the National Infertility Association to form a new partnership focused on access to care and patient education efforts. ASRM and RESOLVE have a long and successful history of working together to improve conditions for patients, and this agreement brings a new, more formal status to that relationship. The joint efforts will focus on three areas: supporting RESOLVE’s Coverage at Work initiative, working together on policy advocacy efforts, and improving ASRM’s Patient Education offerings.
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The Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, the United States’ primary organization of professionals dedicated to the practice of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) is releasing its latest national and clinic-specific ART data, today.
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Washington, DC - The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) applauds the news that New York has passed a long overdue update to the state’s infertility statute as part of its budget bill today.
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New York lawmakers passed a budget measure late yesterday which updates the state’s existing infertility statute to include a requirement for health plans operating in the large group market (employers with 100 or more full-time staff) to provide coverage for three cycles of in-vitro fertilization. The budget measure also includes a provision requiring that patients at risk for iatrogenic infertility be covered for fertility preservation services.
