Baby Bill(s)

Like any hopeful mother, I occasionally find myself browsing just-for-mommy sites, despite the fact that I am not quite an “official” member of the club yet. Recently, I found a site with a cost-of-raising a child calculator. Neat, right? The page displays a list of “expense” boxes, and I just plug in the year my child will be born, where I live, my annual household income, and whether I want my child to attend public or private college. Then, voila, the calculator spits out a figure reflecting what I will spend in a lifetime raising my child-- with a cute little disclaimer “not to despair” because my income will likely increase over time. Apparently, the figure I should “not be despairing” over is $282,416. Really? That’s it? For an entire lifetime? What a relief! I might as well have two or three. No wait, maybe even a Duggar-style family. 

As someone forced to create my family through infertility treatment, this figure seems quite laughable. $14,560 for the first year? As in, I pay $14,560 over the course of an entire year AND receive all kinds of tangible items in return? I vaguely remember last year forking over 4x that amount, in a matter of seconds, as we handed our clinic a check in exchange for the mere chance of getting pregnant. I can’t help but wonder what a cost-of-making-a-baby-through- infertility-treatment site might look like. Would there even be enough room on the page for the expense boxes? Would the calculator even be able to add that high? And what about the disclaimer? Probably more along the lines of : “Go ahead and jump now. You’re doomed.”

While I certainly don’t begrudge those folks who get to skip right to the baby raising stage (ok, if I'm being completely honest, maybe, sometimes--but just a little), why not level the playing field a little for those of us who can’t seem to graduate from the baby making stage? Well Americans (sorry international blogland friends, this one’s not for you) now is our chance! On May 12, 2011, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced the Family Act of 2011, a bill that would provide a tax credit for out-of-pocket infertility treatment costs! Are you jumping up and down yet??? This is SO exciting! However, in order to make this a reality, we ALL (as in you, your family, your friends, your friends-friends--everyone) need to contact our Senators and let them know that we not only support, but desperately NEED this credit. Please take less than two minutes to: Send an email to your U.S. Senators asking them to co-sponsor the Family Act. 

While I feel blessed to have stumbled upon the incredibly unique opportunity to seek treatment in India, the fact is, that regardless of where an individual seeks treatment, and regardless of what type of treatment is sought, the bills quickly begin to add up. For once, I am none to happy to hear of a bill that will actually put money into my pocket, rather than take it out. So if you are too, please take a minute and let your legislators know...