Resolve, the National Infertility Association is having an advocacy day on April 10. I'm not suggesting that you hop on a plane and head to Washington DC because even I can't do that and everyone knows that I have a vested interest in this infertility business. But what I ask you to do, whether you have been effected by infertility or not, is to pray. Constituents will meet with staff members of Senators and Representatives to discuss the following:
Co-sponsorship of The Family Building Act of 2007 (HR2892), federal legislation mandating insurance coverage for infertility diagnosis and treatment. Currently, most insurance companies will not cover infertility diagnosis or treatment because they view childbearing as an optional choice. While I agree that having children is a choice, for my husband and myself (and countless other couples in the nation) becoming parents was not optional. It was something that we longed for with every fiber of our beings. For me, it was as natural and necessary to seek fertility treatment as it would be to seek mental health treatment.
Make permanent the adoption tax credit. This would help (in major ways) couples who desire to add to their families through adoption. It would essentially lower the costs of adoption and help unite children in need of parents with parents in need of children.
Increased funding for medical research for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 1 in 10 couples struggle with infertility. That means that 10% of women that you walk past in the grocery store, mall, church, etc, are probably longing for a child and 10% of men are longing for a child AND consoling their hormonal wife. Medical research is imperative to correctly diagnose and treat infertility.
Please join me in praying for this day of advocacy.
Great Post! We'll be praying!
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful! Thanks for sharing. I'll be linking it in the new day or so.
ReplyDelete