Surgeon General Nominee Gets Grilled On 'Blame-And-Shame Fertility' ApproachNominee for surgeon general Casey Means was asked about her views and past statements on fertility treatments including in vitro fertilization.Means has claimed the cause of infertility in people with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is "reversible" if they change what they eat. She has also generally insinuated that infertility can be fixed if a person changes their diet, exercise and stress levels — an ideology reproductive health experts call "blame-and-shame fertility." "I think it's potentially damaging to widely spread a message that if only we made lifestyle changes, we too, could conceive naturally," Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), who had his two children via IVF, said during Wednesday's confirmation hearing. "My question then is, how much time should a woman of childbearing age take to self-reverse a fertility struggle that may ultimately serve as further setback to them growing their family?"Means said not all infertility cases can be reversed by lifestyle changes and that she believes IVF is "miraculous." "I think [IVF] should be widely accessible," she said. "And with that said, I also think we need to give patients the best public health information about what is impacting these conditions that are plaguing our population." See All UpdatesClose