The only time in my life that I went on birth control was when my spouse and I were trying to have a baby. That’s why I’m celebrating Thanks, Birth Control Day today—because birth control matters to so many people in so many ways. Read on for my story.
Michelle Tea’s new book isn’t the first queer parenting memoir, nor the first by a single queer person who decided to get pregnant, nor the first to look at infertility. Yet the humorous, revealing, sometimes raunchy tale of her path to parenthood at age 40 brings a unique perspective to the genre.
In a major win for equality, the U.K. government has announced that female same-sex couples will no longer have to pay for expensive rounds of assisted insemination to prove infertility before accessing in vitro fertilization (IVF). The country’s leading LGBTQ advocacy organization has clarified that this will also apply to trans people.
Four recent books (two just out today!) are here to guide LGBTQ prospective parents of all genders and sexual identities (and their health care professionals) on the start of their parenting journeys.
After a lawsuit by a queer mom, insurance giant Aetna has said it improperly denied her fertility coverage and will review similar cases. Whether this means a larger change towards equal treatment of LGBTQ people under their policies remains an open question.
The French Parliament has approved a bill that will allow single women and two-woman couples to use assisted reproductive technologies.
My son is graduating from high school this year, which is making me reflect back to how our family started. Since today is Donor Conception Awareness Day, I thought I’d offer a refreshed version of our experience with reciprocal IVF (my egg; partner’s womb) in hopes of offering some insight or inspiration to others pursuing similar paths.
Last week, the Michigan Court of Appeals recognized that both women in an unmarried same-sex couple, one the genetic mother and one the gestational mother, have parental rights. This is a clear victory—but the ruling also indicates what is still needed for even fuller protection of all families, no matter who’s in them or how they are formed.
A new book by the hosts of a popular podcast captures the lively spirit of the show and the insights of their many guests as it explores LGBTQ family making.
Nina Willbach and her wife, a Philadelphia couple, have been trying to get pregnant since last June via assisted insemination. On March 13th, they were told that their most recent attempt didn’t work—and they couldn’t try again because COVID-19 had put a stop to “elective procedures” in Pennsylvania. “I know a lot of folks are going through much worse right now, but it feels like a big blow when every month counts and we’ve had this many no’s,” Willbach told me in an online message. They’re not the only ones to have family-making plans halted during the pandemic.
