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| Gov. Deval Patrick signs the Infertility Mandate updates into law on August 10, 2010. (Photo courtesy of Davina Fankhauser.) |
A little late on posting about this, but a major victory was achieved in Massachusetts last Tuesday, August 10: Governor Deval Patrick signed MA S. 2585 into law. The infertility mandate language updates of S. 485 were folded into a broader healthcare bill that had both State House and Senate unanimously supported, and now the Governor has sealed the deal. The new law will go into effect 90 days from the date of signing. More details about the law and general updates on my life after the cut.
It was tense for a solid week between the passage of the bill at the State House and whether or not Gov. Patrick would sign it; it was assumed he would, but there was no guarantee and there was a tight turnaround form the last day of legislative session here in MA and the last date he could actually sign the bill. But at the eleventh hour, Gov. Patrick came through. It was one of the moments where I was really proud to be a constituent in a state where not only my concerns (and those of hundreds of others) were really heard but where our administration supports family-friendly, progressive healthcare legislation.
I have to give HUGE thanks to Davina Fankhauser and the wonderful women at RESOLVE of New England who lobbied to make this a reality, and of course to all my friends and readers and followers who contacted their legislators here in the Bay State. Nice work everyone 🙂
That being said… our work is not yet done. As great of a victory as getting the IF Mandate updates into law, Rebecca Lubens, Executive Director of RESOLVE of New England was quick to share two alarming pieces in the Boston Globe that ran last week. The first was an op-ed piece that was against the insurance mandate healthcare bill that Gov. Patrick just signed into law. As usual, infertility treatments were thrown under the bus as expensive, elective treatment that drives up the cost of healthcare for everyone. It’s the same old (and largely incorrect) argument that our community hears all the time.
The second op-ed article specifically addressed the use of ICSI in infertility treatments, and tread dangerously close to promoting eugenics. Again, it cast a general sense that couples with IF are selfish in their desires to have children.
We may have won some victories at the MA State House, but we have a helluva battle against the media. Infertility has been assaulted by the media lately; they love to pick on us as their favorite target. We need to not only lobby our legislators, but our media outlets as well… because if we can’t make a dent in this anti-infertility mediated culture war, we are going to be swallowed whole.
Still living between homes and up to my eyeballs in stuff with work. But, Larry put it best last night: “You seem really happy.” And it’s true- my job satisfaction is pretty damn high, which is a nice change. I’m feeling great about heading into this academic year. As for the house, we’re supposed to close next Friday, and all of the powers that be that make this closing happen are optimistic that we will in fact close on that date. I’m practically salivating at the chance to get our stuff out of storage and into the house. Lol, it’s been too long since I’ve seen those beautiful wide-plank pine floors 🙂 Also, I discovered Restoration Hardware last night. That store will be my downfall… I want to furnish the entire house in nothing but their ungodly/insanely expensive furniture! (Realistically, this will never happen. I think I’ll get, at most, these pillows.)
PS- there’s still 2 weeks left to enter my Big IF Bloggy Giveaway!
DO you happen to know what or if there is a mandated cap on exps for ins companies?
I had not heard of this- thanks for posting! That is so exciting! WOO HOO! There is still a war ahead of us, but we won a battle.
It's been awhile…but I wanted to take a moment to thank you for the words of support on my blog. It meant so much to me. What great news about the mandate!!! Bit by bit hardworking advocates like yourself and Resolve help chip away at the lack of infertility support. It's a good day when I read posts like this. Thank you!
pretty cool stuff here thank you!!!!!!!
Congrats on the mandate and the work of Resolve! Thanks for all of your advocacy, and your work on behalf of all of us!
And on a lighter note … Restoration Hardware is a VERY dangerous store … I know just how you feel!
Hooray for MA IF mandate! The sad fact is that Parenthood is exceedingly unpopular these days. Unless you are uber wealthy and can use your little rug rats as a high fashion statement with all the right clothes and accessories, children are seriously undervalued. Adoption advocacy is having a hard time this week too. Thanks so much for speaking up for Families (and the right for all of us to have one) with your strong, clear voice!