Would-be parents shouldn’t have to clear hurdles to get IVF

The Alabama Supreme Court’s recent ruling that fertilized eggs — embryos — are children should be yet another terrifying wake-up call to anyone, regardless of gender, who may ever want to have children. Already, Alabama health care providers have paused IVF procedures, fearing prosecution if the embryos used with parents’ consent do not survive. Thankfully, the Alabama lawmakers Thursday advanced legislation that would extend lawsuit protections to clinics.

Here in Illinois, we’ve led the way to protect access to abortion, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and other reproductive medicine, regardless of what the U.S. Supreme Court may do. However, it would be foolish to rest on our laurels. Quite the opposite — it’s on states like Illinois to make access to IVF more widely available, to destigmatize it and to allow parents to grow their families through whatever means they and a doctor agree is medically appropriate.

That’s why I’m sponsoring a bill in Springfield that will require all insurance companies in Illinois to cover expenses for standard fertility preservation and follow-up services for any interested patient, not only those who have been diagnosed with infertility. This includes services for both men and women.

No one goes through IVF for fun, and most people agree that the standard method of impregnation for heterosexual people is vastly preferable. However, there are many reasons individuals and couples choose IVF.

Same-sex couples rely on IVF to conceive a biological child. Other couples with genetic disorders use IVF to ensure they aren’t passing on that disorder to a child. Single women like me who’ve dedicated our 20s and 30s to our careers are often told by family, friends and doctors alike to consider freezing our eggs so that we can become parents later in life, or become single parents by choice.

As a kindergarten teacher, when I looked into the IVF process, the sticker shock was insurmountable. On average, it costs $22,000 for one cycle of IVF, and most people undergo more than one cycle.

Cost should not be a barrier to conceiving a child. The fear and anxiety that many of us face who want to become parents but can’t, isn’t something anyone should have to suffer — not when the science exists to make our dreams come true.

State Sen. Natalie Toro, D-Chicago