North Cook News

A Republican lawmaker from Palatine urged representatives to reject a proposal that allows LGBTQ+ residents to be covered by fertility benefits. 

Rep. Tom Morrison's (R-Palatine) objections came as the House was set to vote on the fertility insurance legislation, which was ultimately approved 68-43. The lawmaker claimed that House Bill 3709 is way more than providing health or medical insurance coverage.

“We spent almost an hour talking about what happens with puppies in the regulation of puppy mills and Rep. Tarver stood up and made a point about how we're putting puppies ahead of human life," Morrison said at the April 14 meeting. "What this bill is talking about is human life. It's not just about insurance coverage. It's not just about equity in who gets covered for what we're talking about human life.”

Morrison added that there are also recent discussions on couple separations that would affect human life.

“Unless you think this is just conservatives who are raising problems with this issue, the New York Times has done a number of articles about the problems within this industry in the lack of regulation in this industry," Morrison said. "Here’s a recent headline two weeks ago here's the headline: ‘the latest issue in divorces; who gets the embryos?’ Amid the pandemic, IVF rates are on the rise.”

The state representative from Palatine continued his argument that the bill pertaining to amending the Illinois Insurance Code on fertility coverage heavily affects children.

“So, dispute about what to do with remaining frozen embryos when the couple split up again it's just one aspect of a Pandora’s box. We're talking about the sale of eggs, we’re talking about the sale of sperm, we’re talking about paying people for surrogacy. Basically, an expansion of people being commodities," he said." And are we remembering the children in this situation? We hear this so often. What about the children? What about the children—we’re talking about human beings. I urge a no vote.”

House Bill 3709 would provide that the “coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility shall be provided without discrimination on the basis of age, ancestry, color, disability, domestic partner status, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.”

It would also change the definition of "infertility" to mean “a disease, condition, or status." That definition is based on a female not able to become pregnant or carry "after 12 months of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse if the woman is 35 years of age or younger, or after 6 months of regular, unprotected sexual intercourse if the woman is over 35 years of age,"  as well as other factors. 

Rep. Margaret Croke (D-Chicago) who sponsored HB3709 said that it is an anti-discrimination bill.