New York City faces lawsuit over IVF treatments for LGBTQ city employees. Couple fights for equal treatment.

A same-sex couple in New York City has filed a historic class action lawsuit demanding that the city’s health plan cover expensive IVF treatments for them to become biological parents. Corey Briskin and Nicholas Maggipinto, who have been wanting to have biological children for years, were denied IVF benefits that the city offers to female city employees and male city employees with female partners. Now, they are suing the city on the grounds of discrimination.

Briskin and Maggipinto already have a surrogate but each cycle of IVF can cost tens of thousands of dollars because they, as a gay couple, do not qualify for coverage under the city’s health plan. They are fighting for equality and the right to access IVF treatments as LGBTQ+ individuals. The couple believes that the city’s claim of offering IVF treatments regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation is misleading, as they have never been eligible for benefits due to their sexual orientation.

The Adams administration in New York City has stated that it supports the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals to access the healthcare they need. They have been a leader in offering IVF treatments to city employees or dependents with proof of infertility, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. The city will review the details of the complaint filed by Briskin and Maggipinto. The couple remains optimistic despite the challenges they have faced and hope that their lawsuit will pave the way for other LGBTQ+ individuals in similar situations.

Briskin and Maggipinto have heard from others in the same situation as them, as well as from individuals who gave up on their dream of having children due to barriers like lack of access to IVF treatments. They find it disheartening to think about the families that could have been built but were not due to discriminatory policies. The couple believes that if they had been eligible for IVF coverage from the beginning, their children would be 8 years old by now. Their fight for equality and access to IVF treatments continues as they seek to create their own family and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights in New York City.