Opinion: I'm undergoing IVF treatment to have a child, and I'm voting for Kamala Harris

I'm an Indian American woman who also happens to be childless at the moment.

That’s not to say that my husband and I don’t want children, but we’ve been struggling with infertility for several years, and have subsequently endured some extremely painful miscarriages.

As we look to the future, we remain hopeful that one day we can finally bring a baby into this world. Our reproductive endocrinologist and a team of additional experts have been steadily helping us through the IVF process. And right now, we’re closer to becoming parents than we’ve ever been before.

Vice President Kamala Harris promises to defend reproductive freedom and safeguard the privacy of patients and providers when she is president. This means protecting a woman’s right to choose, as well as receive life-saving reproductive health care when needed.

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Do I find common ground with Harris because of her ancestry and gender? Of course. And what an achievement it will be for Harris to be the first woman — the first woman of color — to hold the office. But I also support Harris because of the optimism she'll create when she leads the nation.

It also means giving thousands of Americans impacted by infertility the opportunity to remain hopeful, just as my husband and I have been, with IVF still on the table.

This is why I’m voting for Kamala Harris on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Jina Sawani-Musto is a community advocate and communications professional. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters and we may publish it online and in print.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Opinion: I'm undergoing IVF treatment to have a child, and I'm voting for Kamala Harris