I was the first U.S. baby born via IVF

Also: What gets lost in the immigration debate [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  March 3, 2024 Dear Cog reader, In the days after the recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that basically halted IVF in that state, I took a particular interest in the people pushing strollers on the walking path near my house. When did that couple, with the bassinet on wheels, have their baby? Did they always want children? What about that mom with the running stroller who keeps retucking the blanket around her 1-year-old’s chubby legs? Did she have an easy pregnancy? Of course, I did not call out these questions as my dog and I trotted by. But as a person who did not get pregnant easily — all three of my kids are the result of in vitro fertilization, or IVF — I was curious to know how the news from Alabama was landing with other people. In 2019, I [wrote an essay for Cog]( about the appointment of Sarah Pitlyk to the federal judiciary. A card-carrying member of the Federalist Society, her position on fertility treatments made headlines. She'd been on the record saying that care like IVF and surrogacy have “grave effects on society.” I strongly disagreed. Her life-time appointment stirred in me a desire to share my own infertility story (perhaps similar to the way many women were called to share their abortion stories after the Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022). There can be so much shame, confusion and stigma braided through these experiences; there is comfort and power in sharing them. This week, Cog published a piece by [Elizabeth Carr, the first baby born via IVF]( in the United States. Her parents, Judith and Roger Carr, were Massachusetts residents. After enduring multiple setbacks, including three ectopic pregnancies, they decided to pursue IVF, which, at the time, was new a fertility treatment. Elizabeth has been a media fascination since the moment of her birth. Her parents shared their story instead of remaining anonymous, and Elizabeth has continued to do so, as well, so people around the world could learn about IVF. Since her arrival in 1981, some 8 million babies in the U.S. have been born thanks to the treatment. You can [read and listen to her essay on our website.]( The last time I wrote about this topic, I had one of four viable embryos remaining. It took me a long time to let that one go, even though there were considerable costs associated with keeping it frozen, and even though my husband and I had no intention of trying to add a fourth child to our family. That last embryo represented an option we declined to pursue and a clear end to my child-bearing years. I wanted to be confident in the decision, because for me, there was no going back. That ability to decide — for my body and my family – is what’s at the heart of the outrage we’ve seen in the intervening week or so since the Alabama decision came down. In response, lawmakers in the Alabama House and Senate passed bills to protect IVF clinics from lawsuits, legislation that could be signed into law by Alabama’s governor early this week. But it’s also folly to think this is the last time women's reproductive health, including IVF, other fertility treatments or even [contraception]( will be the target of the anti-abortion movement. Legislation on these issues is [pending in at least 15 states]( where advocates are pushing for fetal personhood. I've been away from the newsletter for a couple of weeks, but it's good to be back. It’s March, we made it. This morning I made my kids dance to “Conga” by Gloria Estefan over their Cheerios. Thank you for reading,  Cloe Axelson Senior Editor, Cognoscenti [Follow](  Must Reads [I was the first baby born via IVF in the U.S. For the first time in my 42 years, ‘I feel like an endangered species’]( No one understands better than the infertility community that embryos are not children, Massachusetts native Elizabeth Carr — the nation's first baby born via IVF — writes in this essay for our Cognoscenti section. [Read more.]( [I was the first baby born via IVF in the U.S. For the first time in my 42 years, ‘I feel like an endangered species’]( No one understands better than the infertility community that embryos are not children, Massachusetts native Elizabeth Carr — the nation's first baby born via IVF — writes in this essay for our Cognoscenti section. [Read more.]( [At the end of my mother's life, I could finally see her]( Liz Vago’s relationship with her mother was flipped. For decades, I was the responsible one and she was the impulsive one, Vago writes. I didn’t appreciate her outsized joy for life. I didn’t understand that it was a roadmap I could follow. [Read more.]( [At the end of my mother's life, I could finally see her]( Liz Vago’s relationship with her mother was flipped. For decades, I was the responsible one and she was the impulsive one, Vago writes. I didn’t appreciate her outsized joy for life. I didn’t understand that it was a roadmap I could follow. [Read more.]( [I want my students to stand on their own two feet. But I also want them to understand joy]( I love anything that makes my students happy, but I also hold them accountable, says Shaumba-Yandje Dibinga, the founding creative director of OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center. It's not just tiptoeing through the tulips every single day. [Read more.]( [I want my students to stand on their own two feet. But I also want them to understand joy]( I love anything that makes my students happy, but I also hold them accountable, says Shaumba-Yandje Dibinga, the founding creative director of OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center. It's not just tiptoeing through the tulips every single day. [Read more.]( [What gets lost in the immigration debate]( Recent studies have tallied how much the surge in immigration has contributed to the U.S. economy, reduced the federal deficit and potentially, headed off a recession, writes Sasha Chanoff. The immigration debate should be rooted in these benefits. [Read more.]( [What gets lost in the immigration debate]( Recent studies have tallied how much the surge in immigration has contributed to the U.S. economy, reduced the federal deficit and potentially, headed off a recession, writes Sasha Chanoff. The immigration debate should be rooted in these benefits. [Read more.]( What We're Reading "It has awakened the American public, finally, to the peril of the theocratic future toward which the country has been hurtling." "[Let’s Thank the Alabama Supreme Court]( The New York Times. "The need to know everything is, frequently, a selfish one, and often that knowledge comes at a cost to others." "[Just Asking Questions About Kate Middleton]( The Atlantic. "In response to news of divorce, people often reply, 'I’m sorry.' But I think we should say 'congratulations.'" "[Women are divorcing — and finally finding happiness]( The Washington Post. "No one understands better than the infertility community that embryos are not children." — Elizabeth Carr, "[I was the first baby born via IVF in the U.S. For the first time in my 42 years, ‘I feel like an endangered species’]( ICYMI [Jon Stewart’s ‘calm-down’ paternalism isn’t funny in 2024]( Jon Stewart remains devoted to a lazy brand of false equivalency in which all political candidates are suspect, writes Steve Almond. But the political fate of this country isn’t a joke. [Read more.]( [Jon Stewart’s ‘calm-down’ paternalism isn’t funny in 2024]( Jon Stewart remains devoted to a lazy brand of false equivalency in which all political candidates are suspect, writes Steve Almond. But the political fate of this country isn’t a joke. [Read more.]( If you’d like to write for Cognoscenti, send your submission, pasted into your email and not as an attachment, to opinion@wbur.org. 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