Ferring Pharmaceuticals Helps to Drive Rallying Call for Passage of the Women Veterans and Other Health Care Improvement Act of 2013

BOSTON, Oct. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Continuing their company commitment to helping patients realize their dream of parenthood, Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. is partnering with RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association to garner Congressional support for the Women Veterans and Other Health Care Improvement Act of 2013. If passed, the bill would complement and improve the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' programs for women veterans and families of veterans by enhancing the VA's fertility treatment services, along with other programs. 

After a decade at war, many service members are at risk for reproductive and urinary tract issues due to deployment conditions and a lack of pre-deployment women's health information, compounded by privacy and safety concerns. Moreover, the nature of the current conflict and increasing use of improvised explosive devices leaves service members far more susceptible to blast injuries including spinal cord injury and trauma to the reproductive and urinary tracts. Department of Defense data shows that between 2003 and 2011 nearly 2,000 women and men suffered these life-changing battle injuries while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. 

"As a company, Ferring is extremely grateful to our nation's men and women in uniform," said Nick Hart, Ferring's Business Unit Head for U.S. Reproductive Health. "We support the Act because it would provide additional services to help meet the complex needs of severely- wounded veterans and assist them in moving forward with their lives and pursuing their goals and dreams, which for some includes starting their own family."

To spread awareness and gain support for the Women Veterans and Other Health Care Improvement Act of 2013, introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, Ferring representatives will be engaging with healthcare providers at the 2013 American Society for Reproductive Medicine/ International Federation of Fertility Societies Annual Meeting. Physicians will be encouraged to show support for the bill by participating in an e-mail writing campaign. Physicians will have the option in Ferring's booth at ASRM to sign up to receive information on the Act from RESOLVE.  Following the meeting, physicians will be encouraged to send a letter from RESOLVE's website directly to their U.S. Senators and Representatives expressing support for the Act.

For more information about the Women Veterans and Other Health Care Improvement Act of 2013 visit: http://www.resolve.org/get-involved/women-veterans-and-other-health-care-improvements-act.html.

To learn more about Ferring's initiatives in reproductive health, visit www.ferringfertility.com.

About Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a research-driven biopharmaceutical company devoted to identifying, developing and marketing innovative products in the fields of reproductive health, urology, gastroenterology, endocrinology and osteoarthritis. For more information, visit www.ferringUSA.com.

SOURCE Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc.