On the recordFebruary 28, 2024
Madam President, I have been called a lot of names in my life: ``Tammy,'' ``Lieutenant Colonel,'' ``Senator,'' and a couple others I shouldn't mention in polite company. ``Mommy,'' though, is, without a doubt, my favorite name. It is the one my 5-year-old uses when she runs into the house after dance class and pulls on my sleeve, eager to show me what she learned during her lesson. It is the one my 9-year-old says when she announces her latest life plan. When she was little, she wanted to grow up to be a garbage collector; now, she is leaning towards being an Army cyber warrior. My girls are my everything. But they, likely, would have never been born if I hadn't had access to the basic reproductive rights that Americans--up until recently--had been depending on for nearly a half century, because after a decade struggling with infertility after my service in Iraq, I was only able to get pregnant through the miracle of IVF. IVF is the reason I get to experience the chaos and the beauty, the stress and the joy that is motherhood. IVF is the reason that my husband and I aren't just Tammy and Bryan but we are ``Mom'' and ``Dad.'' IVF made our family. It made my heart whole. It made my life full. But for countless women in Alabama, that desperately sought-after dream of becoming a mom just became so much harder.…
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