Sen. Baldwin meets with IVF patients to promote reproductive rights

Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin said during a Zoom press call that she "would much prefer that [her GOP colleagues] join us and join me in codifying Americans’ right to start a family on their own terms.” (Screenshot via Zoom press call)

Ahead of U.S. Senate Republicans’ move Thursday to block a bill protecting access to in vitro fertilization, Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin said of her GOP colleagues, “I would much prefer that they join us and join me in codifying Americans’ right to start a family on their own terms.”

Baldwin said that after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision ending federally protected abortion rights, Democrats were accused of being alarmist when they warned that the “ramifications of the Dobbs decision would go far beyond abortion care.

“Look no further than the state of Alabama to see that we were not being alarmist,” Baldwin said. She said U.S. Senators had a chance with the IVF bill to show people that they believe every family should be able to decide when, how and whether to build a family. She added that she supported the bill because she supports women and families’ rights to make those decisions without interference from the government.

During the call, two IVF patients from Wisconsin emphasized the importance that the treatment has had for them in trying to build families.

Jamie Haynes, a Waterford resident, said IVF is the only reason she has been able to have two children. Her first child was conceived in 2019 after she underwent a fourth round of IVF using donor eggs. During this process, she became pregnant with twins, but they lost one of them.

“[My son] was worth every bit of heartbreak that we’d been through. He is truly a dream come true,” Haynes said. She and her husband  had their second child in 2021, also through IVF.

“Without science and IVF, they would not be here,” Haynes said. “It’s also my dream that all families have access to IVF and fertility coverage. Until your family or your friends go through infertility, it’s hard to imagine the toll that this takes on someone.”

Juliann Whirry of Poynette, Wisconsin, said children were always in the plan for her and her husband, but she struggled with infertility when trying to have their first child. After being told by her doctor that IVF would be their best option, she said they saved to be able to afford to receive IVF treatment at a clinic in New Jersey. She had her child in July 2021. Her family is now trying again for their second child using IVF.

“We still have a hole in our hearts… We want to provide a sibling for our child to lean on when we’re no longer here,” Whirry said, adding that she’s had some unsuccessful cycles already.

They are currently in the early stages of another attempt.

“Each of these unsuccessful cycles is devastating to us,” Whirry said. “But after each cycle, I thank God for three things: my beautiful healthy son, the medical science that made him and future babies possible and the insurance coverage that will allow us to try again.”

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