The Honorable Kevin Stitt
Chair, National Governors Association 444 North Capitol Street, NW
Suite 267
Washington, DC 20001

Dear Governor Stitt and Members of the National Governors Association:

We write regarding the August 14, 2025, statement sent to you by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and others regarding restorative reproductive medicine (RRM). We are the international medical society, founded in 2000, representing RRM medical professionals from more than 50 nations, including the United States.

The charges contained in the ASRM letter have been addressed in a response we sent to ASRM and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) following their public distribution of erroneous commentary about our work earlier this summer; we include for you our annotated response, “The Progress and Promise of Restorative Reproductive Medicine,” along with our cover letters to these organizations. We have offered to meet with ASRM and ACOG to discuss any questions they have about our work, and to encourage collegiality and collaboration among those seeking to provide solutions to patients suffering from infertility, miscarriage, or other reproductive health challenges. We have received no response and are disappointed these organizations continue to misrepresent our work.

Our accomplishments and milestones—and our patients—speak for themselves and are summarized in the attached document. We have produced a credible evidence base—data shared in the peer-reviewed medical literature— demonstrating that RRM is comparably effective to IVF while also less invasive, less expensive, and much healthier for babies, including significantly lower rates of preterm birth and low birth weight outcomes. The RRM preterm birth rate in the U.S., for example, is 8% versus 14.1% for IVF (and 10.4% overall U.S.); these figures alone underscore the value RRM brings to the discussion about reproductive health and should be of interest to anyone committed to improving public health.

The word “ideology” is repeated in ASRM and ACOG statements about RRM. Yet, we have no politics, no lobbyists, and zero interests outside of providing and improving care that cooperates with and restores natural reproductive function. In our view, RRM represents the classic approach to medicine that has been deprioritized since the advent of assisted reproductive technology such as IVF. RRM is not yet a formal medical specialty as this is a process that takes time, a fact ASRM well knows as it took decades for the field of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI) to be formalized.

As summarized in the attached document, RRM has accomplished many of the important steps for an emerging field of medicine:

• formation of a new professional body/medical society (https://iirrm.org/)
• provision of continuing medical education—the IIRRM has provided thousands of hours of educational Grand Rounds, case reviews, journal clubs, and other professional development activities all recognized by standard medical accrediting bodies
• publications in existing peer-reviewed medical literature as well as launch of a new RRM-specific medical journal (JRRM)
• creation of a clinical practice registry—ours currently is looking specifically at outcomes for RRM treatment of patients facing infertility or miscarriage (STORRM)
• most recently, in the U.S., creation of a presidential chair of restorative reproductive medicine at a leading medical school (University of Utah announcement)
  .

To dismiss this body of work and ignore the voices of tens of thousands of patients who have benefited from RRM is simply unjustified and wrong.

We support ASRM’s recommendation that, at “a time when medical mistrust has deleterious impacts on communities, lawmakers should work with medical experts to uplift and support proven methods that meet the diverse needs of patients seeking fertility care.” We invite and encourage comparative studies investigating RRM and IVF care and would be pleased to meet with any representatives of the National Governors Association—with or without ASRM, et al—to discuss how best to address the needs of patients in the U.S.

Sincerely,
Tracey Parnell, MD
Global Director
Communications & Development

Monica Minjeur, DO
U.S. Director
Communications & Development

CC: The Honorable Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Jared C. Robins, MD, Chief Executive Officer, American Society for Reproductive Medicine

Elizabeth Ginsberg, MD, President, American Society for Reproductive Medicine

Sandra E. Brooks, MD, Chief Executive Officer, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Steven J. Fleischman, MD, President, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Sindhu K. Srinivas, MD, President, Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine

Kris Strohbehn, MD, President, Society of Gynecologic Surgeons

Board of Trustees, International Institute for Restorative Reproductive Medicine