Congratulations to the Matayka family on the arrival of their twins. Twins Are First Babies Born Using Tricare IVF Benefit | KPBS.org. The Matayka babies were conceived using IVF because their father suffered serious injuries while serving in Afghanistan, making it necessary for him to use IVF in order to have children. Fortunately, the Mataykas were able to […]
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Why Leaving Same-Sex Marriage to the States Won’t Work
A lot of people have taken the position that letting individual states decide whether to permit same-sex marriage is the proper course of action. It sounds good, right? After all, each state’s politicians will know what will work best for that particular state. Even New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte shares this view. But there’s one […]
Let’s Talk About DOMA: Implications for NH’s Same-Sex Couples
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court made history in holding that certain provisions of DOMA were unconstitutional. The provisions in question prohibited the federal government’s recognition of same-sex marriages. The issue came to the Supreme Court by way of a widow who didn’t want to pay federal estate taxes on the inheritance she received from her […]
5 Things You May Not Know About Anonymous Egg Donation
Here are some things you might want to be thinking about as you make the decision to pursue anonymous egg donation to build your family: The degree of anonymity “Anonymous” does not mean you cannot have any contact with the donor. In fact, many intended parents and donors have contact using a third-party intermediary such […]
7 Red Flags to Watch for When Selecting an Egg Donor
There’s so much for prospective parents to think about when selecting an egg donor. One thing that is on the minds of many is whether their chosen egg donor will truly commit to the time-consuming process. In order to donate eggs, a donor must commit to undergoing a series of screening tests followed by ovarian stimulation and egg […]
Should Infertile People Be Permitted to Marry?
Same-sex marriage opponents have relied primarily on the argument that only marriage between a man and a woman are justified because one of the core purposes of marriage is having children. Here’s the problem with that argument–when you start tying marriage to procreation, you run into the issue of people who are unable to reproduce, whether […]
Infertility & The Panda
Mei Xiang is a giant panda at the National Zoo and she’s been having difficulty conceiving. According to Zoo officials, her hormone levels rose and she was prepared for breeding with Tian Tian. But it didn’t happen, so zoo officials ended up artificially inseminating her over the weekend. What’s next for Mei Xiang is blood […]
Miss Manners Weighs In on Sperm Donation
A reader inquires of Miss Manners how he should react when his niece rebuffed his offer to donate sperm. The uncle reports that his feelings were hurt when the niece ended up having a baby using another sperm donor. Miss Manners rebukes him because he does not “seem to appreciate that this was not comparable […]
A Lifestyle Choice?
Many of us have heard the refrain that having kids is a lifestyle choice. For childfree couples who got to make that choice, this can be true. For those of us who didn’t have a choice due to infertility, it’s a very hurtful thing to hear. And it’s not any less hurtful when it’s said […]
What Paperwork is Needed so That My Husband/ Boyfriend Won’t Have Any Legal Rights to Our Future Child?
One question I get asked a lot is what paperwork is needed in New Hampshire so that a husband/boyfriend can agree to give up his rights to a child that hasn’t yet been born (or, sometimes, even conceived). The short answer is that there’s no such paperwork. Public policy prohibits a man from simply […]