How did I come up with the idea to start a non-profit? Well, it isn’t an ingenious idea; it’s just that I decided to try and make the time to finally do something to help others. Through my journey of infertility I learned that there was little support for a 26 year old woman. As the years passed and my experiences with infertility treatments and assisted reproductive technology became more and more involved, our pockets were empty and our hearts were broken. I strongly feel that it is such a shame that those who need medical intervention to try and have a biological child cannot get insurance coverage. I know this varies state to state but from my experience, IVF usually is not covered at all. We were able to do six intrauterine inseminations under our insurance with the help of chlomid and then injectable drugs. But, when we had to move on to IVF, it was time to find financing- we were on our own. The cost of our IVF was $9,000 each time. We did not have enough embryos to freeze and do a transfer. We had to start over every single time.
Our decision to end medical intervention was mostly based on my health and the emotional strain on our lives and marriage. But, money was also a factor. We had spent over $20,000 on infertility. And, there was nothing to say that in order to be successful (if that was ever possible) with IVF we wouldn’t have to spend another $20K. That being said, we made the conscious decision to end all medical procedures to have a family.
We turned to adoption with a price tag of $25,000 (which is relatively inexpensive for international adoption). There is the federal tax credit which covers about $12,000, but we still had to come up with ALL the money up front without taking out any loans. How is this possible?
Well, we found a way and others do to. But, there is a better alternative.
There should be a place to turn for grant money. Having a family should not be based on financial capabilities. The grief and emotional burden of not being able to conceive a child is exacerbated by the strain and stress of finding money to become parents. It is a reality for those of us in this predicament, but I want to ease some of that stress. I cannot help everybody, but I want to offer hope that there is somewhere to turn to realize someone’s dreams of parenthood.