Courtney Deady has spent more than $100,000 to have a baby since she began her journey with Vitro fertilization (IVF) in 2019.
Endless medication, procedures, doctor appointments, hotels and travel expenses also hit her relationships and mental health.
“It can put you in a very dark place,” said Dead, 34, of Sydney, Ohio. “There are days when I thought I wasn’t going to make it.”
Later at Fox News Town Hall in October, she saw Donald Trump calling herself “IVF’s father,” and demanded that the federal government pay for IVF treatment and cover it with insurance companies We promised voters to do so.
That was part of the reason she voted for him in November.
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On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order from Mar-a-Lago Estate in West Palm Beach, Florida, demanding policy recommendations to protect IVF access and reduce out-of-pocket and health planning costs associated with care. I did.
“A promise was made. We kept it,” White House press chief Caroline Leavitt announced an order to X.
Deady calls the president’s executive order a “big victory” for one in six families struggling with infertility.
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“It excites me very much. It means he is true to his campaign promises,” she said. But as a patient advocate, Deady said he knows better than most people that “an executive order is merely an executive order.”
35-year-old Ashley Owings also voted for Trump in November. The Chicago resident began his IVF trip in 2013, but now has a 3-year-old son named Henry.
She says the president will likely face “many hurdles” to cover it. Still, she is trying to be patient.
“It’s special to have the President meet us and acknowledge and remind us that we don’t have to do this on our own,” Owings said. “Any help will be a blessing in the world of IVF and infertility.”
The issue has become particularly urgent as conservative states are being prepared to pass more “fetal personality” laws this year. A law states that a fetus and embryos have a human legal right. Most of these bills are written with abortion in mind, but the language could have broader implications that could threaten IVF patients and health care providers, according to the nonprofit solution. said Barbara Collura, president and CEO of the company.
“It opens up so many questions and so many concerns about IVF practice in the lab and what can people do with their embryos,” she said.
Last February, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created for IVFs were considered “fetals.” State lawmakers quickly passed a law that provided civil and criminal immunity to fertility clinics and doctors due to “embryo death or damage” during the IVF process.
But it’s only in Alabama. Other states with fetal personality laws do not have laws that explicitly protect IVFs.
According to Pregnancy Justice, at least 24 states include the personality language of the law that regulates abortion care, abortion rights nonprofit organization.
The Ohio Criminal Code defines “fetal human beings” as “an individual organism of the species from fertilization to birth.” The terms “fetal” and “fetal human” are used in the context of abortion and pregnancy, but Dead prior to signing an executive order that officials would give her a sense of comfort.
After the transfer fails, she has one embryo saved. She doesn’t know when or if she will undergo another move, which is when the embryo is placed in the uterus to establish a pregnancy.
When she weighs her options, the Dead is busy herself. She volunteers for organizations that advocate for IVF patients, military families and suicide awareness. She also runs a photography business and is an alternative teacher for her second grade class.
It may be too late for her, but she sees the students’ smiles and hopes that her advocacy work will benefit them.
“I can’t put it on my arm yet, but I have a child who counts on me,” she said. “To know that I’m fighting for them without knowing them…it’s my sense of purpose.”
Contributors: Jessica Ginn and Bailey Schultz
Adrianna Rodriguez can visit [email protected].