Archive for October, 2008
Affording Infertility
October 7, 2008 | By: Elizabeth
So hopefully after my rant about that VW ad, most of you don’t completely hate me. But then again, even if you do hate me for voicing my opinion that it is inappropriate in an economy that is falling apart around us, to suggest procreating in order to buy a fancy car . . . I think you get my point that IVF and adoption are expensive and it’s only getting harder to pay for all of this. How do people pay for it anyway? There’s a great new book coming out called Budgeting for Infertility which has some great ideas about planning for infertility treatment and making smart choices (I was asked to write a review for the book cover and I missed the deadline, so I am hoping to make it up to the authors by telling everyone in this blog that I think the book is a tremendous resource!) . And of course, I devoted some pages in each of my own books (The Infertility Survival Handbook and The Ultimate Insider’s Guide to Adoption) . . . but seriously I am going to devote an entire section of my blog to getting ideas and suggestions from everyone, and posting some of my own, that we can all use and share.
I remember the scene from Mr. Mom (yeah okay, I am that old) where Terri Gar (sp?) is pitching an advertising campaign for canned tuna and talks about the economy and how the company should offer to reduce the price of its tuna to help the American people with their food bills. Brilliant!! (and like VW is going to do that anytime soon . . . and when am I going to let that go??)! So it gave me an idea . . . my office is offering free legal services every fiscal quarter. You show me and my financial advisors that you’re really tapped out and we’ll draft your egg donation agreement or your surrogacy agreement for FREE! I am also sending out a huge mailing to clinics and agencies with tons of postcards that give everyone 10% off any of our services. see https://storklawyer.com/free-stuff/
But I want more ideas. I am compiling a list of resources for people that will be available on my website for ways to pay for treatment or adoption and I need input. My first thing to put on the Financially Friendly Family Building Fact Sheet is:
Budgeting for Infertility: How to Bring Home a Baby Without Breaking the Bank by Angie Best-Boss and Evelina Weidman Sterling (Fireside Books).
Angie and Evelina, job well done!
so let me hear those ideas!!!
Filed under: Uncategorized
Brooke Shields what r u thinking?
October 7, 2008 | By: Elizabeth
Okay, I am huge fan of Brooke Shields. Never mind the fact that she’s gorgeous or that I knew her as a tween in NYC, never mind the fact that she’s one of the few celebrities that was honest about her infertility. I am a huge fan of a hugely talented, beautiful, working mother of two children conceived after a very long battle with infertility. But this new advertising campaign she has going for VW is pissing me off.
Having babies just to get German engineering? Having Babies so you can buy a Minivan. PULEASE.
Now let me clarify that today I pointed to my own minivan and proudly declared it my badge of motherhood. I drive a minivan because I worked damn hard to become a mother. And if I have my way, all of those 8 seats in my minivan will be filled with children or paraphanalia related to children. My Minivan is My Status Symbol that I am a MOM. So don’t mess with me when it comes to minivans. I think they are way cool (and it does have 260 hp, put that up against most cars and see who’s got the ova?).
Which brings me back to Brooke Shields person promoting VW’s new minivan. How insensitive can she be to her own people? Really, like I am going to go out and have another baby to buy a VW minivan (which looks amazingly like my Honda Odyssey)? Like I can JUST GO OUT AND GET PREGNANT FOR ANY OL’ REASON? LIKE I HAVE A CHOICE OF WHEN AND HOW I MIGHT PROCREATE?
And more to the point, like I am going to be able to afford a new car anytime soon if I do undergo tens of thousands of dollars of assisted reproductive technologies or adoption expenses to have another child? I guess Brooke never had to consider how expensive her IVF cost? Maybe I should change the title of my book that even millionaires think this stuff is expensive. Apparently the Shields family is rolling in it and doesn’t realize that in this economy, most of us are worried about our mortgage payments and the next IVF bill and not so much concerned about driving a fancy new minivan. I know I’ll be driving that Honda for a very long time . . . and I’ll bet Brooke that my Honda outlasts her VW.
But more to the point, I am tired, so tired of the hypocricy in Hollywood. For once, I had a celebrity that I adored from childhood, that I had a personal connection to on so many different levels. And I hate, loathe and despise the fact that she put her name on an ad that is so hurtful to millions of Americans trying to conceive or adopt everyday. She sold out. on us. on me.
And shame on VW. I hope that the the millions of Americans struggling to have a baby boycott a company that equates baby-making with going on a little shopping spree. My god, the analogy is appalling.
Buy a VW (and I used to own one) . . . never, ever again. Watch Lipstick Jungle. Not really sure about that, then again, I live in a cave and don’t get a lot of t.v. time anyway.
and yeah, I’m back and I’m blogging! Thanks for your patience.
Filed under: Thinking Out Loud
