Dueling approaches to infertility vie for Congress' attention

WASHINGTON — Two professional organizations with different approaches to treating infertility, one backed by supporters of the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement and anti-abortion groups, and the other representing in vitro fertilization providers, held separate, dueling events on Capitol Hill this week after months of escalating tension.

WASHINGTON — Two professional organizations with different approaches to treating infertility, one backed by supporters of the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement and anti-abortion groups, and the other representing in vitro fertilization providers, held separate, dueling events on Capitol Hill this week after months of escalating tension.

The briefings pitted in vitro fertilization — a process that involves retrieving eggs from the ovaries, fertilizing them with sperm in a laboratory and transferring one or more embryos into the uterus — against restorative reproductive medicine, a lesser-known approach to infertility that encompasses medication, lifestyle changes, tracking menstrual cycles or performing surgery for conditions that can decrease fertility, such as endometriosis.

While IVF providers may offer those options as well, a key distinction is that restorative reproductive medicine does not include IVF. Its providers say their methods are less invasive and more affordable and focus on identifying and treating the root causes of infertility. But restorative reproductive medicine is not a formally recognized medical specialty in the U.S. and has not been evaluated as extensively as IVF has.

Roughly 8 million babies in the U.S. have been born via in vitro fertilization.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine, which represents IVF providers, and the International Institute for Restorative Reproductive Medicine, the professional association for doctors who offer this type of fertility care, each touted their approaches at separate briefings for congressional staffers on Tuesday.