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The American Fertility Association Blog
Tyra Update - Part Deux
January 23, 2008 - Wednesday
Posted by admin
To our extraordinary members:
We wanted to share our experience of you in the wake of our response to the calls, emails and blog entries we received about the taping of the Tyra Banks Show segment on infertility. The whole episode obviously struck a chord deep within this community. The blizzard of cyber-notes sent to us about our stance regarding the show’s alleged mishandling of the issue has been overwhelming. Thank you!
Thank you for your letters, both affirming and critical of our actions. Because what’s most important in all this is that you’ve spoken up, engaged with us and your peers about topics as sensitive and critical as fertility, infertility, assisted reproductive technologies, family-building, individual choice and public perception.
What can we say? You are remarkable.
Just to update you: Like you, we’re awaiting the airing of the show. We do believe in their right to produce whatever they want. We also believe in our right to respond. Now, everything we know comes from people who’ve told us what they witnessed at the toping. The reports were infuriating. So in the interest of getting a clear picture, we phoned the producers, hoping to hear their perspective. We’re still waiting for a return call.
Now, perhaps, as two of you have written, we jumped the gun with our open letter of protest to the show’s senior producer. If we did—great! Nothing would make us happier than to be mistaken about the Tyra Banks Show. We’d gleefully offer an apology. All we’re after is fair and intelligent treatment by the media. There’s no question but that we’ll fight for that and fight hard. (We’ll keep you posted as the situation unfolds.)
By the sheer volume of your correspondence to The AFA, it’s clear that you want the same. Your activism and input are essential to keeping the media, politicians and regulators on the ball and honest. So we want to take this unique opportunity to urge you to continue this dialog with and through The AFA. It’s so important that we communicate among ourselves, a kind of de facto think tank. To that end we’ll be publishing as many of your notes as we can fit in the next issue of Connections and putting all of them up--pro and con--on our blog.
It’s your voices, your opinions, ideas, experiences and observations that help The AFA shape its perspectives, educational initiatives and policy agenda on everything from compromised fertility, access to health care, treatment affordability and insurance to sexual and reproductive health and the pursuit of family-building. It’s your insights that make the difference.
Yes we are an educational organization, full of top-notch information free to everyone. But The AFA is also an energetic advocate for enlightened policies to guarantee the basic human right to have family. That means that we not only work on infertility and its ripple effects, we also tackle social, legal and political issues through the lens of fertility preservation and prevention. That includes, but certainly isn’t limited to, access to scientifically based sex education, an environment free of fertility-damaging toxins and efforts to promote all forms of family-building. Our goal is to elevate our issues into the mainstream national discussion about reproductive health and rights. Our goal is to be in the room when policy is made, not merely to respond after the fact.
So tune in and jack in. Ask questions. Send your personal stories for The AFA blog or our publications. Share your take on the medical, social, political aspects of infertility, fertility, third-party reproduction, adoption, foster care. After all, it’s about creating a family. It’s what you’re about. It’s what we’re about. We’re in it together. Let’s keep the connections open.
With warm regards,
The AFA Staff
Categories
Fertility •
Infertility •
Reproductive Technologies
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