When a disease affects 7.3 million people in the United States, it’s a public health crisis. In the United Kingdom, the estimates are that infertility affects 1 in 7 couples; in Canada, the number is as high as 1 in 6. According to the World Health Organization, they estimate that “1 in 4 ever-married women of reproductive age in most developing countries are infertile because of primary or secondary infertility” (source).
Infertility is a global public health crisis, and yet, it faces some of the most direct challenges in equal access to care compared to most other diseases on a scale this great.
Thus, it is vital that we come together as a global patient community to demand equal access to care, treatment, research, and cultural compassion for our disease.
There are many ways to be an infertility advocate in ways that suit your comfort level and capitalize on your skills and talents. Here are posts that focus on how you too can become your own best infertility advocate.
We all have the capacity to become empowered agents working for change!
Speak Up & Be Heard Must-Reads:
These are some of my greatest hits with regard to infertility and women’s health advocacy.
- The Legacy of Reproductive Choice for the Infertility Community: On the 20th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, I talk about how infertility and reproductive choice are inextricably linked to one another.
- The Little Infertility Clinic That Could… and Almost Didn’t: An examination of how the personhood movement can dramatically impact the physical landscape of infertility care in America.
- The State of the Uterus: A fired-up call for women to come together to demand an end to the politicization of women’s healthcare in America.
- Mississippi Initiative 26 Threatens Infertility Treatment for All: Personhood legislation, even at the state level, could have a chilling affect on Americans’ access to infertility treatments.
- Infertility and Raising Awareness: Sharing our stories is vital to increasing awareness for our disease.
- 4 Myths Debunked About Mandated Infertility Coverage: The key to successful advocacy is arming yourself with facts.
- Why Does the Government Hate Women So Much? A passionate call to action against waves of anti-women legislation in the United States with the potential to directly impact the infertility community.
Belly Full of Fire Series
A five-part series from 2010 about how you – yes you! – can become an advocate for infertility sensitive and family-building friendly legislation.
- Advocate or Abdicate Committing to change is the first step in advocacy.
- The Wounded Healer Advocacy can be a source of healing in our journeys.
- Which Direction Do We Swim? Which style of advocacy is the best for you?
- In a Perfect World Imagine what the fruits of our advocacy efforts could look like…
- Millions of Voices Calling for Change Practical strategies for becoming an infertility advocate in a variety of ways.
RESOLVE Advocacy Day Posts
Each year, RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association hosts an Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Advocates – people just like you and me – gather from around the country to speak with their legislators about advocacy issues important to the American infertility community. I have been a proud participant of Advocacy Day since 2011.
