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The American Fertility Association’s Monthly Newsletter

Nov 5, 2008

FEATURE WELL

John Taylor

John Taylor’s ART Project

The teenage years are tough. You’d think they’d be especially tough for 17-year-old John Taylor, a senior at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. It wasn’t, until last year when Taylor started speaking openly about how he was conceived.

Taylor says, “My parents did IVF. My mom, who’s an OB/GYN, was 37 when she had me. I didn’t think about it that much, but it’s something that I’m interested in learning more about.”

So interested, in fact, John decided to use his senior project to advocate for Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) awareness and the lack of affordable options and insurance coverage. The project started in his junior year with an essay, and continued into his senior year with a final product. Taylor got the idea from his 11th grade Advanced Placement English Teacher Elizabeth Kaulfuss, who would bring newspaper articles to class to give her students ideas.

“Initially I was going to do a project on making autistic kids mainstream. I did that for about a week. She showed me this news article about IVF and lack of coverage and recognition it receives from society. She showed me that article and I spent a year writing a paper about it – it took a lot of research,” says Taylor.

John had no idea there was a reason why Kaulfuss kept bringing ART articles to class, but it turns out, like John’s mother, she too struggles with infertility. Kaulfuss battles endometriosis and has been trying to conceive for seven years.

“John approached me and asked me privately why it was I kept bringing up that particular topic. I probably had 3-4 good articles on infertility, so I told him. He said to me I have something I’ve never told anyone before – and then told me this story on how he was conceived and said he was thinking about doing it for a project. When he first came to me he was really nervous about telling me. He’s grown a lot through this process,” says Kaulfuss.

With Kaulfuss’s blessing, Taylor went forward with the project which has evolved into his own, working website and has already caught the attention of insurance companies, news outlets, and national organizations like The AFA, where now John is the new Teen Advocate. Kaulfuss even sent John out to share his story with parents, teachers, and students at other schools in the Raleigh area. His personal connection to this project has made him passionate about the point he’s trying to make - allowing him to convey his message with confidence.

“It was a good project, because it wasn’t just a school project, I was actually interested in what I was doing,” says Taylor.

“That has really moved him to know that teachers, who he respects, have struggled with this problem personally and it’s made it all the more real to him, because he is deeply invested and very excited to be a spokesperson for you,” says Kaulfuss.

John says he thinks insurance coverage, affordability, and awareness will have to improve as ART becomes more accepted and recognized by couples struggling with infertility. His hope is for more insurance companies, fertility clinics, and politicians to begin to realize infertility is just like any other disease, recognized by insurance companies.

By the way, John passed his ART project with flying colors.

For more information on The AFA Youth Advocate John Taylor’s ART Project visit his website. John will also be a regular contributor to The AFA Blog. You should also be sure to check out The AFA’s homepage often for John’s videos. To join John in advocating for improved insurance coverage Click Here to make a contribution to The AFA.

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The Pros and Cons from the Pros
This is the first in a series of articles written by members of the AFA Mental Health Advisory Council. Our goal is to provide you with information that can help you to make some of the difficult decisions you may be facing.

The Pros and Cons of Using Known or Unknown Gamete Donors
by Joann Paley Galst, PhD and Elaine Gordon, PhD

Gamete donation affords thousands of couples the opportunity to have children without having to forego the birth experience and the chance to preserve some genetic link to their hoped for child. Deciding whether to use a known or unknown gamete donor (sperm, egg, or embryo) is a decision that should be thoughtfully and honestly considered, so that the best possible decision can be made. Listed below are some of the advantages and disadvantages of working with a known or unknown donor.

Known/Open/Non-Anonymous Donations: Donation with a donor already familiar to the recipients (friend, family member) or whereby the parties, initially unknown to one another, meet and exchange information and make mutual decisions regarding their arrangement.

Pros…

Access to more information regarding the donor
Known medical and psychological histories
Opportunity to offer more information when talking to the child(ren)
Continuity of genetic line if working with a relative
Allows donors and recipients to participate in a mutual selection process
Chance for offspring to decide and plan for future contact and update information
Gives offspring access to their genealogical history
Minimizes the creation of the ‘fantasy’ donor or recipient
Personalizes the experience for all participants
Gives donors and recipients more control over their donation destinies
Allows donors and recipients to discuss expectations and obligations

Cons…

Limits access to information
Reliance on others for donor’s appropriateness both psychologically and medically
Does not allow for recipient to deny working with a donor
Forces donor to experience disappointment if cycle fails or a pregnancy is lost
May encourage genealogical bewilderment for offspring
Puts to question parent’s legitimacy
Parent(s) may feel parenting is being judged by the donor

Unknown/Closed/Anonymous Donations: Donation that can be completely anonymous or with an identity release option whereby the offspring, upon reaching the age of majority, can request information and possibly have contact with the donor.

Pros…

May create a stronger sense of authenticity of the parenting role
Avoids the threat of interference
Reduces fears that donor will lay claim to child
Maintains parental control regarding the dispersion of donation information
Allows recipients to maintain their privacy
Permits denial about working with a third party
Easier to orchestrate and organize
Eliminates fear of rejection for both donors and recipients
Allows for one to idealize the donor or recipient
Minimizes confusion for the child

Cons…

Less control over donation selection process
Unavailability of updated medical information about the donor
No opportunity to gather information in the future
Requires recipients and donors to make a leap of faith regarding suitability
Necessitates the need for trusting the professionals involved
Leaves the matching process to strangers albeit well-meaning ones
Minimizes the need for recipients to take responsibility for donor selection
Curtails the amount of information recipients and donor have available to them
Offspring offered less chance to meet or access information concerning donor
Offers children a more limited birth story

It is important to understand your options and make your decisions, keeping in mind your needs, as well as the best interests of your hoped-for child, both now and in the future. Remember that good decision making starts with getting all the information, as well as the clarification of one’s feelings. Donation should involve three components: medical, psychological and legal. Collectively these three areas of expertise can help you make the best decisions regarding your desire to build a family.

For further information see:

Daniels, Ken. Building a Family. Dunmore Press, 2004.

Ehrensaft, Diane. Mommies, Daddies, Donors, Surrogates: Answering Tough Questions and Building Strong Families. Guilford Press, 2005.

Glazer, Ellen & Sterling, Evelina. Having your Baby by Egg Donation. Perspectives Press, 2005.

Morrissette, Mikki (Ed.). Voices of Donor Conception. Behind Closed Doors: Moving Beyond the Secrecy and Shame. Mondo Publishing, 2006.

Vercellone, Carol Frost, Moss, Heidi, & Moss, Robert. Helping the Stork: The Choices and Challenges of Donor Insemination. Hungry Minds, 1997.

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Support Line: 888-917-3777. www.theafa.org