When I started my job at MFH in the summer of 2014, I was pregnant. That year was one of the happiest of my life. We were expanding our family and moving into our dream home. Everything was happening so fast, until it wasn’t; until there was no heartbeat. I was crushed. This would have been my second D&C in two years. I needed the D&C, as I knew the pain would be too much to endure without it – physically and emotionally. I was grateful that such care was available to me at the time.
Ever since I was able to start having children, I’ve struggled with infertility. One of my babies, I know, was a son. The other, I was too hurt to find out what I was carrying. I suffer from endometriosis; there is no cure. In vitro fertilization has always been my light at the end of the mommy tunnel, and today, I still have dreams of motherhood. Finally, I am in a happy, healthy place in my life, where I feel I am able to bring life into the world. And while the possibility of doing so brings me joy and excitement, the thought of doing so in a world that has suddenly turned so cruel is top of mind.
Is the future that I see so brightly – of me building my own family, in jeopardy?
I am a woman. A woman who appreciates the fact that until last Friday, I had the right to choose and decide what’s the healthiest move for my mind, body, and spirit. Putting any kind of restrictions on that, infringing upon my privacy, is uncivilized. Infertility care will forever be important to me. I don’t need anything else introduced into the situation that will make it harder for me to expand my family and be the amazing mommy I was always destined to be. Keep your hands off the full spectrum of my reproductive rights, period!
Where we stand as a Foundation
Our Focus on Women’s Health
Our commitment to women’s health runs deep. For nearly a decade, the Foundation’s Infant Mortality Reduction Initiative has been using equity-focused strategies to save lives through FLOURISH St. Louis and Bootheel Babies and Families. Building on our commitment, we launched The Right Time to empower people to take control of their health. Most recently, we’ve been exploring ways to promote high-quality, equitable maternal health care with partners around the state.
In Our Own Words
The Supreme Court’s decision and the consequences to follow will touch women of all ages, races and ethnicities, across all sectors, industries, socioeconomic levels, and lived experiences. Over the course of the next few days, MFH will release the stories of its women in leadership. This series captures real-life accounts of the five women who are members of the Executive Team at the Foundation, reinforcing how essential women’s rights are and how crucial adequate reproductive care is in reducing health disparities and the role it plays in shaping the outcome of one’s life.
