Nobody knows how Barrett, if confirmed to the Supreme Court, would vote on Roe v. Wade, or how it will affect the business of IVF. (The industryis estimated to be worth$25 billion globally, and is predicted to grow to $41 billion by 2026, according to Catherine Waldby, author of The Oocyte Economy: The Changing Meaning of Human Eggs.) But overturning Roe v. Wade, chipping away at abortion access, or even supporting personhood legislation threaten not only fertility treatment like IVF, but stem-cell research, contraceptives, and even the treatment of miscarriages (including one proposed bill that would mandate funerals for miscarriages).

IVF is pro-family.

Infertility is a disease, says Lora Shahine, M.D., a reproductive endocrinologist specializing in infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss at Pacific NW Fertility and IVF Specialists in Seattle, referring to the World Health Organizations definition of infertility as a disease. For people trying to build a family, IVF is the only medical treatment to the disease. Its that simple. You would be limiting the ability of Americans to build families. For someone who is dedicated to families, that seems kind of intuitive. IVF is pro-family.

Should Amy Coney Barrett be seated to the Supreme Court, with her publicly stated positions that would severely hamper fertility treatments making them less effective and less safe, we fear that reproductive health care would be set back many decades, endangering the families for which we care, the doctors wrote in Fertility and Sterility.

IVF parents like me are speaking out with the hashtag #ThanksIVF.

Most of us know someone (or are that someone) who has used IVF to help build their families, tweeted Pietro Bortoletto, M.D. (@BortolettoMD). We are all worried about SCOTUS nominee ACB's view on IVF.

While some criticize IVF, I remain grateful that this path to parenthood exists, says infertility advocate Jennifer Jay Palumbo. To meet my son or to look in the eyes of any other child conceived through assisted reproductive technology and dismiss their existence is unconscionable. While there are many family-building options available, we all have the right to explore the God-given gift of medical science first to try to have a biological child, if thats what we wish.

Amy Klein is the author of The Trying Game: Get Through Fertility Treatment and Get Pregnant Without Losing Your Mind.

Go here to see the original:
Where Amy Coney Barrett Stands on IVF - Glamour