Keep IVF for Military Families in the NDAA

It’s December 2025, and reports from Capitol Hill confirm that House Speaker Mike Johnson is once again pushing to strip IVF coverage for service members from the National Defense Authorization Act. At the very moment when Congress is finalizing this year’s defense bill, military families are watching their chance to build a family be negotiated away behind closed doors. This is a make-or-break moment — and public pressure can still force Johnson and congressional leadership to reverse course.

We call on Speaker Johnson and every member of Congress to restore comprehensive IVF coverage for service members and military families in the final NDAA. Our troops deserve the same access to fertility care that civilian federal employees and even members of Congress themselves already receive.

Military families face unique fertility challenges: repeated deployments, exposure to chemicals and combat-related injuries, long separations, and the physical strain of service. Yet under current TRICARE rules, IVF is only covered when infertility is tied to a service-connected injury — leaving thousands of families with no meaningful access. Studies continue to show high rates of infertility among active-duty women and men, and IVF often costs tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket.

Earlier this year, both chambers of Congress initially moved toward expanding IVF coverage in their NDAA drafts. But newly reported back-room negotiations in December revealed that leadership removed the provision, despite bipartisan public support and strong statements from reproductive-rights advocates, veterans’ groups, and lawmakers who insist the military should not fall behind the rest of the federal workforce.

By signing this petition, you’re joining thousands demanding fairness, dignity, and reproductive freedom for the people who risk their lives for ours. We urge Speaker Johnson and all members of Congress to restore IVF coverage before the final NDAA vote at the end of this legislative session.