[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 17455]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             RESOLVE, THE NATIONAL INFERTILITY ASSOCIATION

  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to commend 
RESOLVE, the National Infertility Association, on its three decades of 
accomplishment and for the many activities it has planned to observe 
National Infertility Awareness Week, which will be celebrated this year 
during the week of September 26 to October 2, 2004.
  For 30 years, RESOLVE has compassionately and effectively served the 
needs of the nearly seven million Americans comprising our Nation's 
infertile community, and has been a leading force in efforts to educate 
the broader public about this devastating condition. Infertility is 
recognized as a disease and medical condition that has devastating 
physical, social and psychological consequences.
  RESOLVE, the National Infertility Association, was incorporated by 
Barbara Eck Menning, in 1974, to aid and support individuals with 
infertility. RESOLVE is a nonprofit organization, governed by a 
volunteer board of directors, many of whom are individuals with first-
hand personal experience with the physical, emotional, and social 
challenges accompanying infertility. They are citizens who have 
overcome these challenges through assisted reproductive technologies 
and adoption or determined that their lives would be childless. 
Regardless of their resolution, RESOLVE helped them to reach it with 
information, education, and support. RESOLVE's leaders are also members 
of the professional community who address these issues including 
National Institutes of Health funded researchers, attorneys, 
physicians, nurses, and other representatives from the health care 
industry and related businesses. RESOLVE has a database of more than 
40,000 individuals and providers, and a network of more than 40 
chapters providing support services, information and grassroots 
advocacy in local communities nationwide.
  National Infertility Awareness Week focuses attention on the fact 
that infertility affects approximately 6.6 million people in the United 
States, a figure which represents 1 in 10 couples in which the woman is 
of reproductive age. These are only the reported cases. Millions go 
unreported because of the stigma attached to infertility and recent 
surveys suggest that nearly three-quarters of those who can be helped 
do not seek medical or other assistance because of, among other things, 
their fears and lack of awareness of the resources available to them 
and the limited insurance coverage to assist them. The National 
Institutes of Health, most particularly the National Institute for 
Child Health and Development, spends approximately $300 million a year 
on biomedical research focused on reproductive health, treatments, and 
cures of reproductive disorders. This important research will advance 
our understanding of infertility-associated diseases and the 
availability of more effective and affordable treatments that will be 
respected by insurers and employers as a routine benefit for all those 
insured.
  I am proud that my state of Hawaii and 14 other states have enacted 
laws that require insurance companies to provide some level of coverage 
for infertility treatment. Like the thousands of individuals working as 
part of the RESOLVE network, a dedicated community of Americans, I am 
committed to helping to ensure that those struggling with the multiple 
challenges of infertility have regular access to appropriate and 
affordable health care coverage to address their health care needs.
  I applaud the work of RESOLVE, The National Infertility Association, 
and commend the many ongoing efforts and special activities throughout 
the country aimed to educate and inform the public about the issue of 
infertility, during National Infertility Awareness Week, September 26 
to October 2, 2004.

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