Aetna Subsidizes Orphanhood
December 30, 2025
In a settlement last week, Aetna announced it would expand fertility coverage for same-sex couples nationwide following a federal class-action lawsuit, Berton v. Aetna, filed in the Northern District of California. Approved by US District Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr., the settlement requires Aetna to cover fertility treatments such as artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization (IVF) for same-sex couples on the same basis as heterosexual couples.
Far from a pro-life win, the settlement is a troubling redefinition of infertility, treating the intentional absence of a mother or father as irrelevant to a child’s well-being, while ignoring the well-documented eugenics and high loss of life associated with assisted reproductive technologies like IVF.
