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THE HOWARD AND GEORGEANNA JONES
FOUNDATION FOR REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE
Lee Rubin Collins
Lee Rubin Collins is
an advocate for
infertility patients.
Born in Norfolk, VA,
she earned her
undergraduate degree
from Harvard College,
summa cum laude, and
her J.D. from Harvard
Law School. She
practiced law for
fifteen years as a
trial attorney and
partner at Ropes &
Gray in Boston, MA.
In the midst of her
law career, Ms.
Collins began
undergoing treatment
for secondary
infertility. She
approached it as a
lawyer would:
determined to become
educated about every
step of the treatment
and to act as her own
patient advocate. She
sought second
opinions and explored
complementary
therapies such as
acupuncture and
mind-body relaxation
techniques. Finally,
after more than two
years of treatment,
including five cycles
of IVF, Ms. Collins
and her husband,
Jarrett, were able to
have a second
daughter, born in
2000.
Infertility became a
turning point in Ms.
Collins’s life. She
decided to resign
from her law firm and
devote herself
instead to the cause
infertility awareness
and advocacy.
Ms. Collins is on the
Board of Directors of
RESOLVE: The National
Infertility
Association, the
nation’s oldest
consumer nonprofit
for infertility, as
well as on the Board
of RESOLVE of the Bay
State, the
Massachusetts chapter
of the national
organization. In
2002, when RESOLVE
learned the
President’s Council
on Bioethics was
eyeing new regulation
of IVF and other
fertility treatment
in ways that did not
necessarily serve
infertility patients’
best interests, Ms.
Collins led RESOLVE’s
response to the
Council. She met with
the Council’s
chairman, Dr. Leon
Kass, and prepared
extensive written
objections.
Ultimately, the
Council withdrew the
proposals RESOLVE
considered most
inappropriate. Since
then, she has been
involved in lobbying
efforts consistent
with RESOLVE’s
mission to expand
insurance coverage
for infertility
diagnosis and
treatment, including
meeting with
Massachusetts
Governor Mitt Romney
to preserve that
state’s insurance
legislation.
Ms. Collins writes
frequently about
infertility, has
appeared on numerous
television shows, and
has been interviewed
for publications
including The Wall
Street Journal and
MORE Magazine. She
speaks regularly
about infertility,
including
presentations at the
annual conference of
the American Society
for Reproductive
Medicine. She is a
member of ASRM and
the New England
Fertility Society.
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