Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Backlash...or full on attack

Maybe I am naive...maybe I just didn't realize how much hatred there is towards those seeking fertility treatments...but I am just floored at the utter callousness of some people. I had no idea that lawyers out there feel this way. It drops my opinion of those who are supposedly so learned and charged with upholding our laws.

A woman I know from online is trying to get her law firm to consider adding IF coverage in their benefits package. To that end, she asked an online lawyer forum to bring up the topic. I clicked over to read it and found statements like these:


If you can't have children, then god didn't want you to have them. Just like if he gave you small breasts or a big nose. No firms pay for breast enhancement (unless you consider a partner paying for a set for his assistant) or nose jobs. Stop playing around with mother nature.
For those that go through with IVF, I am guessing you want us all to contribute $10 per paycheck to care for the quadruplets, even though you will undoubtedly leave the firm once we pay you not to work for 12-18 weeks. Sounds like a really solid financial plan.


And this one...gotta love this one...

I think this thread is teaching us that the parents who are trying fertility treatments are precisely the type of blindly self-righteous and narcissistic people that we don't want polluting our gene pool. God/nature made you infertile. Take a hint.

This one sums it up nicely:
If you can't shit out a kid on your own, you shouldn't have one. Isn't that how nature is supposed to work?

I am surprised I guess that there is this much animosity towards those who are seeking IF treatment. A small part of me can understand not wanting to contribute to others through group medical plans, however these comments just left me feeling defeated.

I had no idea that infertiles were faced with such hatred and discrimination...

Here is the link to the comments by the way...the full force of them doens't hit you until you read through them...

http://abovethelaw.com/2008/04/biglaw_perk_watch_infertility.php#post-comment

10 comments:

DD said...

(Looks like Blogger is going to be a bitch today)

I had to leave a comment. Most of it was highly offensive.

DD said...

BTW: not MY comment, but the other comments to the article. I especially was befuddled by the number of comments that made the whole thing into a joke so they can direct attention at themselves. Pathetic.

littleangelkisses said...

Damn DD! I admire that you said things to articulately! I couldn't even collect my thoughts to get that far...

MLO said...

Lawyers are technologically challenged. They don't comprehend any of it and it shows in the way the lawyer heavy congress critters debate any technology issue.

Kim said...

I have no idea what to day. My jaw is resting on the floor! Insurance is supposed to cover things that affect a person's quality of life. Not being able to have children when you want them will affect your quality of life - the size of your bra does not! I sometimes have to stop thinking about the world we live in - it makes me so mad that so may people are so selfish. I bet they would feel differently if they were affected by IF! As mush as IF sucks, I am proud to be a member of this special group of wonderful women!

Anonymous said...

I'm afraid to click on the link to see everything that was said....what you posted was enough! Although, I probably will click over...damn...

Dr. Grumbles said...

ONline forums are just a breeding ground for anonymous HATE.

Ya know, technically flippin' CANCER is natural - so, I guess there's no need to cover your mom's chemo!

Lynda said...

I haven't read the link but yep, that was pretty unbelievable stuff to read.

Anonymous said...

I'm a lawyer and someone who conceived through IVF. Don't take what they say personally, the people who tend to frequent such boards love to insult others about any topic, be it IF or anything else. The comments reflect nothing more than their own issues. Do not let those pompous morons leave you feeling defeated.

Trying said...

Besides for the obvious issues with those comments, the ignorance they show is astounding.
"For those that go through with IVF, I am guessing you want us all to contribute $10 per paycheck to care for the quadruplets"
Do they know anything about IVF? You will almost NEVER have 4 kids through IVF! Almost no doctors will ever put back 4 embryos at once!
Of course, as someone else pointed out, any sickness can be classified as natural. I guess the difference would be whether something can threaten your health or not. Not having a kid, while it's definitely hard, and can affect your quality of life, won't affect your actual health.