images

FLL Logo
Invitro Logo
M&M Logo

The AFA thanks Google, a premiere sponsor, for their online advertising grant.

Google Logo


The American Fertility Association Blog

Happy Pride!

June 15, 2009 - Monday
Posted by admin

I had been looking forward to BrooklynPride Day for weeks.  The AFA decided to set up a tent there so we could speak to people about family building and for me this was so amazing, because BrooklynPride takes place in my own backyard, along Prospect Park in Park Slope.  I was really looking forward to having my friends, neighbors and especially my own kids stopping by The AFA tent, as well as the 5,000 visitors who typically come to Park Slope for this annual event.  I strolled it last year with Connor and Caitlin but at that time, the three of us were much more intent on the baba ghanoush and costume jewelry available for sale, than on the information available.  What a difference a year makes! 

I knew I would want to write a blog entry about the event, but last week when I visualized my words on paper, I thought I would call this entry Gay is the New Black.  Which I like as a title a lot.  But the truth is, that title didn’t fit the spirit of this amazing day, which was simply, Pure Happiness. 

Ken (Mosesian, The AFA’s Executive Director) had threatened to buy me a teeshirt with “Middle Aged Straight Woman” written on it to wear to Pride, but mercifully, he didn’t.  Instead the four of us showed up in our regular clothes: Dr. Jessica Brown and Dr. Cristina Matera, both of Madison Women’s Health & Fertility, plus Melinda Micciola,The AFA’s Director of Operations and me.  Madison Women’s has always been a safe, compassionate practice for single women, gay or straight, to go to and we were honored to have them sponsor our tent. 
The whole neighborhood was out there it seemed.  Lots of couples of every kind, proud to show off loving pda’s.  I’ve never seen so many cute dogs wearing colorful bandanas.  My fave moment?  The cutest 6 month old baby boy wearing an “I Love My Two Moms teeshirt”, happily utilizing an AFA directory cd as a chew toy. 

At the tent, we were knee deep in people who wanted to talk to all of us. 

I have to tell you, Saturday made me so happy.  I love talking to people, and so many stopped by our booth.  Their faces were so eager and open, and gawd, so many of them were very young!  At least to me.  There was one young woman who was intent on freezing her eggs – until Melinda and I explained to her that as a 34 year old lesbian, freezing her embryos was a better choice.  Another woman was grateful to hear from someone point blank that she should move onto IVF or IVM after 8 unsuccessful IUI’s.  She said that no one had told her that before.  And of course, we fell in love with Anthony and Ricky, what a handsome couple.  They are currently keeping their fingers crossed that their adoption will come through. 

We spoke to the earnest faced kids who go to Harvey Milk High School.  Two of them in particular were glad to get specific info about their potential to be moms and dads someday, information that they were comfortable taking home to their parents that night.

I especially loved connecting with Rev. Elizabeth Alexander, the Pastor of The Church of Gethsemane.  What a cool woman.  I’ve never seen so many colors worn at once, so amazingly well.  She spoke to me a little bit about how hard it was for her to come out – to the LGBT community - as a Presbyterian pastor.  I could have spoken to her for hours, and am looking forward to her soon to come contribution to this page as a blogger.

There were so many more.  They kept stopping by, even when the rain couldn’t hold out any longer. 

You know it’s funny.  We as professionals in this world of family building take so much for granted.  We think that everyone out there is as up to speed on their baby making options as we are.  But you know what?  They’re not.  Gay or straight, it really doesn’t matter.  We have a lot of work to do to make sure – to make really sure – that people know and understand what they can do so that they make the right choices early on, and protect themselves and their futures.

Happy Pride everyone!

Corey Whelan

Program Director

The American Fertility Association

Categories
Adoption • Egg Freezing • Family Building • Gay and Lesbian Family Building • LGBT

(2) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink



The Real Grey’s Anatomy Cliffhhanger – What Will They Do With Izzy’s Embryos?

May 16, 2009 - Saturday
Posted by admin

12:15 p.m.

By: Steven H. Snyder, Esq.

O.K., Izzy and Alex have a baby.  Well, sort of.  But they are going to have a baby, right?  Well, maybe.  If Izzy lives.  Even if she doesn’t live?  Hmmm . . .  If this were happening in the real world, what would be the odds and possible outcomes?  Let’s see if we can write the script(s) for next year’s opening episode.

T.V. Show Background:  Izzy has cancer, and she is worried that her treatment and/or outcome may affect her fertility.  She is in love with Alex (or is she still in love with the ghost of Denny?), so, in spite of the fact that they are not yet married, she and Alex undergo in vitro fertilization and create embryos for storage and future use using Izzy’s eggs and Alex’s sperm.  Izzy has surgery (but can’t remember it), and now we just don’t know if she is going to live or die.  But those embryos are there, and Alex, now that he has married Izzy, will definitely survive (barring an unexpected off-season car accident – one never knows!).

Legal Background:  I won’t bore you with details, but the courts in the U.S. have had occasion to address the status, possession, and use of embryos. 

The soap opera summary is that embryos are generally regarded as neither property nor persons (except in a very rare state like Louisiana); they occupy some category in between and are entitled to “special respect” because of their potential for human life.  (This means that accidentally destroying an embryo won’t subject the responsible party to murder charges or wrongful death lawsuits, but the persons whose sperm and eggs are used to create them are entitled to possession, control, and recovery of their own embryos.)    Therefore, if a clinic (or hospital like Seattle Grace) wants to keep or control the embryos against the wishes of the genetic parents, they it can’t.  The parents get the embryos and can move them or use them as they wish as long as they agree.

If the parents don’t agree on the use of the embryos, especially where they get divorced, there are a variety of theories that determine whether either parent can use the embryos against the wishes of the other.  Again, generally speaking, if the parents disagree, the parent who does NOT want to use the embryos wins.  (Just as a person has the right to procreate, each also has the right not to procreate.)  The courts have not yet forced a person under these circumstances to procreate against his or her will.  This may be because the documents the couple signed at the hospital stated that they couldn’t use them, it may be in spite of what the documents say because of intervening changes in their circumstances, or it may simply be because the parent seeking to use the embryos has other options to procreate without the sperm or egg of the former partner. 

If one of the parents dies, the embryos generally belong to both parents, so the survivor should be able to use them as he or she sees fit.  This is particularly true if the documents signed at the hospital at the time of the IVF procedure give the survivor permission.  If there are documents, the hospital will honor them, and the courts will likely give them full force and effect.  (Did we ever hear about or see any such documents in that episode?  Hmmm . . .)

The real question if one parent dies is whether, if and when the survivor uses the embryos, the resulting children are the legal children and heirs of both parents (including the deceased parent) or just the surviving parent.  If the surviving parent is the man, the only options for use of the embryos becomes through a surrogate or the man’s subsequent significant other (or wife?).  If it is with a new partner who intends to parent the child, it is unclear who the child’s legal parent will be – the deceased genetic mother’s or the new birth-parent partner’s?  Is this more like a surrogacy or an egg/embryo donation?  Will the child inherit from the genetic father’s estate, the deceased genetic mother’s estate, the birth-mother partner’s estate, or all three.  (Whatever happened to that huge inheritance Izzy received?)

The courts have not dealt specifically with this issue to my knowledge except in the context of social security benefits for posthumously conceived and born children.  The question for social security purposes (simplistically put) is whether the deceased parent had the duty to support the child under the law of the state where it was born.  Most states have answered this question, “Yes,” and children born up to 2 ½ years after the death of one parent have become eligible for social security dependent survivor benefits.

So.  Back to the world of T.V.

Izzy lives and she and Alex stay married:  They use the embryos cooperatively.  They have children, and they live happily ever after (or until one of them suffers some other debilitating disease and dies).  (Maybe they both die later and Meredith and McDreamy become guardians of the resulting children and raise them as their own!)

Izzy lives and realizes she should never have married Alex and divorces him:  They fight over control and use of the embryos.  We may find out whether they have any signed agreements (and which doctor advised them about their effect).  Whatever the outcome, the person not wanting to have babies with the embryos wins (I think).  (Does this change if Izzy wants to use them without Alex, and her cancer has left her unable to have children any other way?  Hmmm . . . )

Izzy dies and Alex is so crushed he can’t ever love anyone else and just has to have Izzy’s children:  He should have control over the embryos (but check out the documents and consents they may have signed), so he uses a surrogate to gestate the children and becomes a single parent.  He subsequently applies for social security benefits for the children and succeeds (as long as they weren’t born too long after Izzy’s demise).  Is Izzy’s inheritance still floating around, is it in trust, and can the children benefit from it?  Hmmmm . . .

Izzy dies and Alex realizes he really loves Callie, and they get married and use the embryos:  Do the documents at the hospital allow this much leeway to Alex?  If so, he and Callie have the children, and we find out whose kids they legally are and whether they inherit from only one or both mothers, genetic and birth.  My vote is that Callie becomes the legal mother, and the children retain the right to inherit form Izzy’s huge estate (or was that all donated to charity?)

I wish I could be inside the minds of the writers of Grey’s.  It would make it so much easier to predict what is really going to happen.  The interesting (and, perhaps, somewhat scary) thing is that T.V. is just following real life.  The questions discussed somewhat lightly above are very real, very serious questions that will someday have to be decided in the real world.  Perhaps this just gives us the opportunity to reflect, become aware, and better prepare ourselves for our own life’s decisions.  Good luck!


Steven H. Snyder, Esq., is the founding and principal partner of Steven H. Snyder & Associates, ATTORNEYS AT LAW.  Mr. Snyder’s primary areas of practice are Assisted Reproductive Technology Law and related Estate Planning.

Categories
Egg Freezing • Family Building • IVF • Surrogacy

(0) Comments • (2) Trackbacks • Permalink



Facing Change

March 16, 2009 - Monday
Posted by Ken

Last year I wrote an article addressing how issues surrounding the topic of infertility would only become more intense in the coming year. What I didn’t realize is the degree to which the infertility conversation would enter mainstream media, and how quickly.

Thus far in 2009, the topic of infertility is everywhere. Whether it’s the mother of eight babies in California or a 60 (plus) year-old woman becoming pregnant through in-vitro fertilization (IVF), infertility has become part of most people’s daily listening and reading, if not daily conversation.

As I write this in mid-March, I’m wondering what’s going to happen this week when the Georgia State Senate considers a “personhood” bill, which defines life at the moment of conception and ascribes all human rights to the embryo from that point forward. The bill would make anyone who damages or destroys an embryo criminally liable, subject to both fines and imprisonment. It would further forbid any disposition of unused embryos except the option to donate them to another couple, (and they do mean married, heterosexual couples).  The option to freeze embryos for use at a later date, donate them to scientific research, or dispose of them would be illegal if this bill becomes law.

There are several other bills floating around state legislatures right now. Many are designed to dictate to physicians and patients having difficulty conceiving how many embryos they can create, how many they may transfer, and what the disposition of any unused embryos must be.

New questions are being raised about the use of sperm taken posthumously from a male for the purpose of continuing a family line or ensuring inheritance. Who has the final say in these matters?

Egg freezing is emerging as the most asked about fertility topic of the year. Women and men want to know if eggs can be frozen for use at a later date, similar to what is currently being practiced with unused embryos. If so, what’s the success rate? Is this something we should be encouraging? Are there risks? What are they?

Egg freezing, taking sperm from dead men, legislators dictating what physicians and patients can and can’t do, and the very real possibility of microscopic tissue being called a “child” are just some of the issues The American Fertility Association (The AFA) is helping consumers sort through as they begin or find themselves in the midst of their family building journeys.

7.3 million American women experience difficulty conceiving or bringing a pregnancy to term. Fertility challenges among men may be just as high, as male factor infertility is the sole or contributing cause in about 40% of infertile couples.  We are, indeed, faced with a significant challenge.

In addition to providing education and support for those facing fertility challenges, this year, The AFA began an infertility prevention program in which we take education to young women at places they already frequent – like nail salons and health clubs.

Why? There are types of infertility that can be prevented. Avoiding environmental toxins, taking into account the biological clock (fertility begins to decline at age 27 for women and 35 for men) and preventing STD’s are all things that can keep options open for individuals and couples if and when they decide to have children. As everyone knows, prevention, when possible, is the best cure.

Our mission is simple: prevent infertility whenever possible and support people in building families of choice. To learn more, visit us at http://www.theafa.org.

The American Fertility Association, a 501 (c) (3) national non-profit organization is a lifetime resource for infertility prevention, reproductive health and family building. AFA services and materials are provided free of charge to consumers and available to everyone without reservation. These services include an extensive online library, monthly online chats, telephone and in-person coaching, a resource directory, hosted message boards, daily fertility news and a toll-free support line.
http://www.theafa.org or 888.917.3777.

Ken Mosesian
Executive Director

Categories
Donor Egg • Donor Sperm • Egg Donation • Egg Freezing • Embryo Donation • Family Building • Fertility • Fertility Preservation • Frozen Embryos • Frozen Sperm • Infertility • IVF • Reproductive Freedom • Sexual Health • Sperm Donation • Third Party Reproduction

(5) Comments • (1) Trackbacks • Permalink



Page 1 of 1 pages