Madeleine Dean: “While IVF is a major news story, fertility treatments are deeply personal journeys full of loss and hope. I see it in my…”

“While IVF is a major news story, fertility treatments are deeply personal journeys full of loss and hope. I see it in my own family. For 2 years, my daughter-in-law, Stephanie, and my son, Patrick, have struggled to have a second child to give their precious daughter, Ella, a sibling, a lifelong best friend. For 2 years, they have had hope extinguished by heartbreak, two failed IUIs, two IVF egg retrievals, a failed embryo transplant, and two miscarriages. For them, IVF has opened the door to growing the family they have always hoped for after so many doors were shut. IVF is not a cure-all, and it will never eliminate the trauma of infertility, but Stephanie and Patrick's latest IVF embryo transfer worked. God willing, we will be blessed with another grandchild this spring. Their story is like so many other young families, yet it is rarely discussed. Infertility affects one in five women in the United States, many of whom suffer in silence. That is why I am on the floor today and why Stephanie gave me the blessing to tell their story. Let's end the stigma, and as lawmakers, let's protect and expand access and coverage for IVF. ____________________”