LGBT family planning & RSCBA

“Woo hoo, I can’t believe it!” I exclaimed as I walked in last Friday morning. The Supreme Court made its historic marriage equality decision and the air in the office buzzed with excitement. Cheers emanated out of hallways, office doors and exam rooms as the news spread. It was particularly poignant in a fertility clinic where so many of the patients and staff alike are so intimately affected by this important step forward for equal rights.

It was amazing to see the joy in my fellow RSC doctors, who have been championing treatment for the LGBT community from the beginning, and for new LGBT patients, staff members and allies who have just started their journeys together with their partners.

It is hard to believe that has taken this long for marriage equality. But it happened! And in this day and age when negative news seems to dominate, the decision was such a welcome change and a beautiful end to the week. Love, one of the most fundamental human rights, triumphed.

From partner to parent

Of course, when partnerships in love form, it is often not long before the desire to build a family starts to grow. Along with love, fertility remains one of our most fundamental human rights. However, for LGBTQ patients fulfilling this right can be challenging.

Fortunately, fertility doctors love challenges! I know I do. In fact, one of the biggest joys of becoming a doctor was setting aside any preconceived notion about my patients and focusing on our common goal of improving health. Specializing in reproductive endocrinology defines the goal even more clearly. Now, most of my time is dedicated to helping patients become parents.

It is incredibly rewarding because in this day and age the majority of patients who seek care will take home a baby. This is particularly true for LGBTQ patients when the challenges for conceiving (like where will the eggs or sperm come from) are often times clearly defined with many good treatment options available.

RSC is a proud supporter of the LGBTQ community and can accommodate most any patient seeking fertility care. Visits can be as simple as discussing the fundamentals of conception to organizing complicated cycles involving egg donation and gestational surrogacy.

This Fall, Dr. Sara Reid and I will start hosting regular LGBTQ informative sessions in the Peninsula and the East Bay areas. These sessions are designed to give an overview of fertility treatment options and will allow questions to be answered in both group and private settings. Please check this website for more information as we finalize dates and locations.

RSC applauds the Supreme Court’s decision for marriage equality. Although we are happy, we appreciate the challenges we still face ahead for our LGBTQ patients and the difficulty they can face when trying to qualify for fertility insurance coverage. Here’s to an amazing step in the right direction and, hopefully soon, I will hear the cheers of “Can you believe it?” when the decision is made to make fertility benefits accessible for all patients!