Uncategorized Archives - Judith Hoechst | Colorado Reproductive Law

Overturning Roe v. Wade raises stakes for patients who need IVF, experts say

Judith Hoechst — Sun, 10 Jul 2022 23:59:44 +0000

WELLNESS June 27, 2022

Cara Skowronski and her husband are the parents of a 2-year-old daughter who was born through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and a gestational surrogate, who carried their daughter.

Now, as the Skowronskis look to expand their family, they say they are afraid of the obstacles they may face after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Skowronski and her husband recently moved from Nebraska to Texas, where abortion will be banned under a trigger law that goes into effect 30 days after the Supreme Court’s decision.

The couple’s remaining frozen embryos are in Nebraska, where Gov. Pete Ricketts has said he will push for the state legislature to pass a total abortion ban in the wake of Roe being overturned.

“It’s challenging enough to have infertility treatment today,” Skowronski told ABC News. “I think the additional potential state legislation that ban or make IVF incredibly difficult will really take it away as an option to a lot of couples and a lot of individuals, and it’s heartbreaking.”

Nurse to Surrogate: Not a Far Leap

Judith Hoechst — Tue, 29 Mar 2022 15:46:44 +0000

Three local women share what it’s like to go from caring for mothers to carrying those mothers’ babies.

by Jamie Korf

Surrogates are like a thing of mommy lore. We may know of a couple going through surrogacy or have mutual Facebook friends who became the intended parents (“IP” is the industry term), but the person who played the vital role in building these families is usually cloaked in mystery. We don’t see a rash of images of her budding belly or sweat-beaded face as she lay crumpled out on the hospital bed, post-delivery. And that’s intentional; it’s not an overlooked aspect of the process. Surrogates just aren’t the showy type.

“Surrogates are women who foster animals, volunteer at their kids’ schools, give blood,” says Shannon Curry, surrogate business development manager at ConceiveAbilities, a surrogacy agency. “They work at ObGyn clinics, they are nurses, they are teachers …. And they have a lot of empathy for people who can’t carry a child as they find mothering to be one of life’s greatest experiences.”

When you consider the overlap between surrogates and health care providers, there’s no eureka moment—it makes complete and utter sense. At their core, health care professionals and surrogates embody a giving, self-sacrificial spirit. And humbled as they are, they’ll just tell you they’re here for the ride.

I was the first IVF baby born in America, and here’s why it must be affordable

Judith Hoechst — Sun, 06 Mar 2022 21:08:35 +0000

Feb 26

The cost of reproductive medical treatments, and specifically lack of insurance coverage for infertility medical treatments, is a major barrier to family building.

Forty years ago, I was born the first in-vitro baby in the United States, thanks to the foresight of Drs. Howard and Georgeanna Jones at the Jones Institute in Norfolk, Virginia, who brought the then-groundbreaking procedure to this country.

Israel lifts restrictions on same-sex surrogacy

Judith Hoechst — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 18:07:03 +0000

Israel’s LGBTQ community had demanded for years to be allowed to pursue surrogacy, which is already accessible to straight couples and single women.

Jan. 4, 2022, 7:53 AM MST

By Reuters

Israel on Tuesday lifted restrictions barring same-sex couples and single men from becoming parents through surrogacy within the country, upholding a Supreme Court ruling to end the ban.

“It is a historic day for the LGBTQ struggle in Israel,” Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said at a news conference, announcing the ministry had issued a circular granting equal access for all to surrogate pregnancy.

Israel’s LGBTQ community had demanded for years to be allowed to pursue surrogacy, which is already accessible to heterosexual couples and single women.

In July, the Supreme Court, petitioned by gay rights activists, ruled that the surrogacy ban for same-sex couples and single men violated their rights and must be lifted within six months.

The restrictions had applied only to surrogacy arrangements in Israel, and some of those barred from pursuing the process at home traveled abroad to do so.

Article…

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Meet the Women Who Become Surrogates

Judith Hoechst — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 15:10:47 +0000

In 1995, Lisa Wippler, having recently retired from the Marines, moved with her husband and two young sons to Oceanside, Calif., and was contemplating her next chapter in life. The answer came while lying in bed one night, reading an article about infertility.

“I had no idea how many couples out there needed help,” she said. Inspired, she sought out a local support group for women who had served as surrogates to help those who can’t have children on their own start families. “It was this amazing circle of women,” said Ms. Wippler, who is now 49. “All talking about their journeys and their stories.”

Last year, Ms. Wippler — by this point a three-time surrogate herself — was part of a delegation of surrogacy advocates who traveled to Albany, where she had the opportunity to share her story with lawmakers considering whether to legalize the practice in New York State. She was joined by the first woman she carried a child for, in 1996, who spoke with state legislators as well.

“I had never heard her talk so openly about her struggles and the impact this all had on her,” Ms. Wippler said. “I was so proud — it really had an impact on me.”

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Parents relieved at option to protect teenager’s fertility during cancer treatment

Judith Hoechst — Wed, 09 Jun 2021 19:57:47 +0000

THE parents of a teenager have spoken of the relief they felt for their son after being presented with the option to preserve his fertility while he underwent cancer treatment.

Parents Olivia and Daniel O’Connell are amazed at how well their teenage son has coped with all the repercussions of his cancer treatment.

The seventeen-year-old endured four rounds of chemotherapy to eliminate multiple tumours around his body.

However, before his treatment started the consultant advised his parents to preserve his fertility.

Olivia says her son was diagnosed with classic Hodgkin’s lymphoma in February 2019.

A month later his oncologist, Dr Michael Capra, urged the family to attend the Merrion Fertility Clinic in Dublin.

Olivia says Dr Capra’s advice made complete sense because of the risk that chemotherapy can reduce the chance of a natural conception.

“It is a comfort to us as parents to know that the option is there for him down the road. If he does want to start a family and if there are any hurdles in the way we know that we can fall back on the Merrion Clinic.”

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IVFU Is A New Podcast Exploring The Pain, Joy, Angst And Love Of Trying To Make A Family The “New-Fashioned” Way

Judith Hoechst — Sat, 05 Jun 2021 15:14:34 +0000

Hosted by award-winning singer-songwriter, Moth storyteller and Edinburgh Fringe performer Sam Shaber.

IVFU is a new podcast exploring the pain, joy, angst and love of trying to make a family the “new-fashioned” way, hosted by award-winning singer-songwriter, Moth storyteller and Edinburgh Fringe performer Sam Shaber.

Have you ever wanted something so badly that it feels like all you can talk about? That’s what trying to have a baby felt like to singer-songwriter/storyteller Sam Shaber.

In IVFU, a new podcast from Inside Voices, Sam explores the multitude of ways families are made today, in what she describes as the “new-fashioned way”. From intended parents (gay, straight and single), to egg donors, adoptive and transracial parents, and more, you’ll hear honest, uninhibited conversations about travelling the sometimes very rocky path to making a family – all while Sam is on her own journey to have a baby through surrogacy.

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How to Compare Fertility Treatment Options

Judith Hoechst — Tue, 25 May 2021 00:55:01 +0000

Aspiring parents often find it challenging to compare the costs of various fertility procedures such as in vitro fertilization, intrauterine insemination and egg freezing.

That’s because the cost of fertility treatments run the gamut depending on the procedure, location, medications used, insurance coverage and other factors.

Still, there are some strategies couples and individuals can use to get a sense of their fertility procedure costs, which can help them make a plan to pay for them. Here’s what to know.

The Cost of IVF

Average cost: $10,000 to $15,000.

In vitro fertilization, commonly called IVF, involves a series of medical procedures during which a woman’s eggs are retrieved, fertilized and transferred to the uterus, all in the hopes of achieving pregnancy.

The average cost of IVF in the U.S. is $10,000 to $15,000, according to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology.

That said, the out-of-pocket cost will increase if the patient undergoes additional procedures, uses certain medications and receives additional testing. “It totally varies,” says Arielle Spiegel, founder of CoFertility, an online platform aimed at uncomplicating the fertility treatment process with resources, tools and content.

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Grand Rapids couple become legal guardians of biological twins born by surrogate

Judith Hoechst — Sun, 23 May 2021 21:28:17 +0000

Jordan and Tammy Myers are now a step closer to being the legal parents of their biological twins, after a decades-old state law first stood in the way.

In a hearing earlier this month, a Kent County judge ruled that the Myers could be recognized as the legal guardians of their children.

13 ON YOUR SIDE first reported on the Myer’s back in January, when they were fighting against Michigan’s Surrogacy Parenting Act, which makes compensated surrogacy illegal for carriers and intended parents. Even if a surrogate isn’t compensated, the law says that any agreement made between the parties won’t be recognized in court.

Although Tammy and Jordan are the twins’ biological parents, the state of Michigan didn’t recognize them as legal parents.

However, in a Facebook post by Tammy Myers on April 17, she was happy to announce that after a hearing on April 16, the Myer’s were named Eames and Ellison’s legal guardians.

The couple will still have to go through an official adoption, but Tammy states in her post, “This step gives us legal decision-making abilities when it comes to medical care among other things, and it means that we are one step closer to becoming the legal parents to our sweet babies.”

Eames and Ellison are now 3-months-old.

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U.S. Citizenship Transmission and Assisted Reproductive Technology

Judith Hoechst — Wed, 19 May 2021 17:08:31 +0000

Recognizing the advances in assisted reproductive technology (ART), the State Department is updating our interpretation and application of Section 301 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which establishes the requirements for acquisition of U.S. citizenship at birth.

Children born abroad to parents, at least one of whom is a U.S. citizen and who are married to each other at the time of the birth, will be U.S. citizens from birth if they have a genetic or gestational tie to at least one of their parents and meet the INA’s other requirements. Previously, the Department’s interpretation and application of the INA required that children born abroad have a genetic or gestational relationship to a U.S. citizen parent.

This updated interpretation and application of the INA takes into account the realities of modern families and advances in ART from when the Act was enacted in 1952.

This change will allow increased numbers of married couples to transmit U.S. citizenship to their children born overseas, while continuing to follow the citizenship transmission requirements established in the INA. Requirements for children born to unmarried parents remain unchanged.

At the same time, we remain vigilant to the risks of citizenship fraud, exploitation, and abuse. As with all citizenship and immigration benefits we examine, the Department will implement this policy in a manner that addresses these concerns.

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