I personally know many people near and dear to me who have been diagnosed infertile and struggle to realize their dreams of having a family or struggle with the reality that it might never happen to them. In light of the recent healthcare debates, I wrote this letter to President Obama and sent slightly modified versions to my representatives as well. More people than you realize struggle with infertility. Perhaps you could help me send a message to our government leaders that we want them to be more pro-family.
Mr. President,
With the current healthcare debate about the mandate to cover the prevention of children, I must ask why there is no mandate to cover the creation of children? You appear anti-family by not helping the thousands of infertile couples who are paying often hundreds of thousands of dollars each in an effort to create life as there is no standard for insurance coverage of infertility treatment.
Insurance companies that do offer infertility coverage will often only cover up to two attempts of in-vitro fertilization because they fear the risks of multiple births. However, couples who know they only get two tries will risk a multiple birth by transferring several embryos in order to increase their chances of hopefully welcoming at least one child into their home.
The nation of Israel has addressed this risk by providing coverage for in-vitro fertilization until the couple has two children. This policy has reduced the number of multiple births because couples are more likely to transfer only one or two embryos rather than putting all their hopes and embryos on their only two tries.
Much of the talk about contraceptives is that it is preventative medicine. Children are not medical conditions to be prevented. If you must talk prevention, pregnancy and breastfeeding have also been shown to reduce the risk for several cancers.
Mr. President, please stop your anti-family practices.
Lisa M. G. Dennis, M.Ed.
Emails are great. Physical letters are better. Or do both, make sure they can’t ignore this.
Contact the White House
Contact your senator
Contact your representative
I am an educator and PhD. I quilt, belly dance, run, read, and try to grow things. I am a Mormon. I am infertile. I am a daughter, sister, aunt, grand-daughter, friend, wife, and mom.
Brett L. Dennis
Mama g
Giggles
AmandaStretch
What a fantastic idea!
Agreed! :brett:
Way to go. :tractor:
Oh THANK YOU! This is exactly what runs through my head … and to be honest, out of my mouth, as I holler at my news radio and television programming! I really fear for the future of our country as we {read: the administration and media} continue to assault the fundamental building blocks of family at every turn. To site the reasoning for a mandate concerning birth control on the grounds that “pregnancy is a detriment to the family” is pure idiocy and I do not understand why the ‘mainstream’ American public is not up in arms about this? Thank you for setting the example and showing us exactly how we can tell our Government what we expect. I am a new follower.
I’ve been yelling at the tv lately too. And I finally realized the tv could do nothing about it. And so I wrote to someone who could.
This is so great that you feel impassioned and empowered enough to write letters. Very inspiring. The province of Quebec, which has a dwindling population, wants to encourage the creation of families (especially French-speaking families who can continue ensuring the survival of the language in North America) so IVF is completely free for women before the age of 40. There’s a waiting list, but if you qualify, then you get it. You know, it’s a really huge huge move, and it’s not going to change the system, but if your friends would consider relocating across the border… They could look into the details.
Pingback, 1 May 2012 at 9:24 am
The problem with form letters | Random Giggles