What if I told you that I only existed because of in vitro fertilization? That the only reason you are reading this right now is because of IVF? What if the person next to you was only sitting there because of IVF? How about if one of your favorite female conservative influencers existed only because of IVF?
Or what if IVF allowed someone you didn’t know, an unknown married couple who wanted to have children, to experience the miracle of childbirth? What if it helped a husband and wife who spent nearly $100,000 and underwent painful medical procedures, all so they could have a child?
“I wouldn’t have been able to have Cooper without it [IVF],” Candace Kushner Smith said. “In the end, it cost us almost $90,000 because we had to do it four times.”
Smith is not a billionaire, millionaire, or celebrity. She is a middle-class American woman who lives with her husband and son in Indiana. Smith and her husband were only able to become parents because of IVF. As such, she strongly supports President Donald Trump’s new executive order on IVF. I dare you to stand in front of her, her husband, and their son and tell them they shouldn’t be parents because their child was a product of IVF.
“If it were more affordable when we had the chance to do it, he (Cooper) could probably have a sibling,” Smith said. “But five attempts resulted in one child.”
“Trump’s executive order is going to give families like mine an entirely different experience,” she said. “I am so excited for the people who will get to go through this under different circumstances.”
IVF is a good thing that helps people have children. It is an expensive process that, quite frankly, many husbands and wives can’t afford. And frequently, if they can afford it, it significantly strains their finances. Yet, despite this, they choose to do so anyway. Why? Because to them, experiencing childbirth is priceless. Trump knows this, and it was the impetus for issuing his executive order. The president should be applauded for this decision.
“Making IVF more accessible to American women who want to become mothers but cannot conceive naturally is imperative to protecting the family unit, the very core of society,” political strategist Nicole Kiprilov said. “Not only is Trump delivering on yet another campaign promise, but he is also actively working to reverse the Radical Left’s years-long battle to destroy the family unit.”
“Currently, hard-working American couples go through immense emotional and financial pain and turmoil in order to be able to afford IVF to get the family they so desperately desire,” Kiprilov said. “Now with President Trump’s executive order, there is a chance that we can remove that burden and make it easier for people to bring beautiful life into the world.”
People like Candace, her husband, and their son Cooper.
“In 2014, we found out that creating a family in the traditional sense wasn’t in the cards for us,” Smith said. “After seeing many doctors, we discovered IVF was our only option, and we were desperate to start a family.”
“We started the process in 2015, and our first round was the most devastating,” she added. “To say I slipped into a grave state of depression at that point is an understatement. I did everything right. I did the shots. I took the medication. I went to the appointments. I had a positive outlook. I did it all. It just wasn’t our time.”
“A month later, we started again,” Smith said. “The second and third time, I developed cysts on my ovaries toward the end of the cycle and had to stop. At this point, we were three rounds in financially, at about $18,000-$24,000 per round. We had to decide: one more round or give up. We opted to let go and let god and give it one more try.”
“Dec. 23, 2015, I found out I was pregnant,” she said.
It’s a story many IVF users can relate to. It also indicates why Trump’s executive order is so important. Trump campaigned on making America great again. His executive order, meanwhile, is making families who have fertility challenges happy and hopeful again.
“President Trump’s Executive Order, which recognizes that the cost per IVF cycle ranges from $12k to $25k, forcing couples who want families to go to extreme lengths to afford this treatment, is in line with what the American people want,” Kiprilov said. “Currently, 6 in 10 U.S. adults support protecting access to IVF. Assisted reproductive technology, including IVF, has accounted for the births of millions of beautiful babies that deserve to be here.”
“I would encourage those opposed to IVF to have conversations with women who have had fertility struggles, as well as IVF babies who wouldn’t exist without this amazing technology,” Kiprilov said. “Consider what some of these families have gone through in order to become parents.”
IVF is not some demon science or weapon of science that ends lives. It’s precisely the opposite. It creates life. It gives husbands and wives the joy of partaking in something every family should experience: the birth of their newborn child. Without the wonders of IVF, as Smith mentioned above, these precious lives would not be possible.
TRUMP SIGNS IVF EXECUTIVE ORDER TO EXPAND FERTILITY TREATMENT ACCESS
The wonders behind IVF and the miracles it creates should lead to compassion and celebration. Good on Trump for recognizing this easily distinguishable fact.
And good on Candace and her husband Jeff in Indiana, who refused to give up until they received their bundle of joy and completed their family.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
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