We knew that Shannons letter would speak to so many people. After 617 likes and 378 shares (as of this moment), her courage to stand up for her family encouraged so many others to speak for theirs as well. Another letter that was sent to us from the writers after the Bismarck Tribune declined for exceeding the word count. IT IS NOT A POT ROAST We have always considered our infertility a very private, personal matter. It was something we only discussed with our closest friends and family members. That all changed for us during the 2013 ND legislative session. District 35 Senator Margaret Sitte sponsored a bill that would make freezing embryos illegal in North Dakota. We went through the In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) process for three years. It was not successful for us, but we met many wonderful friends during our time at the Reproductive Clinic in Fargo. We personally know over ten children who would not have been born if it weren’t for this process. We put a lot of thought and deliberation into IVF before we started the process. Our faith played a big part in our decision. We believe that God has a hand in the creation of modern procedures available in healthcare. In our process, we believed strongly that our God had given the world this procedure and wanted us on this journey. But during the last legislative session, Margaret Sitte spoke on the Senate floor about couples going through IVF. She claimed that infertile couples like us, whose agonizing decision to undergo IVF and subsequently freeze embryos, view it as nothing more than “a pot roast, you put it in the freezer, you can take it out, you can decide what you want to do with it.” The burden that infertility places on a relationship and a marriage is intense. Struggling with infertility and going through IVF procedures has to be one of the most difficult things that we have ever done. It was constantly on our mind, a constant struggle. For her to use situations like ours as political gamesmanship is callous and cruel. At the time Margaret Sitte made these remarks, we were no longer in the IVF process. We had implanted all of our frozen embryos with no success. Knowing the helpless feeling of pain and loss that infertility brings, we couldn’t help but think of how her statement and positions made those in the middle of their treatments feel. Angry, misunderstood, unaccepted, and unloved come to mind. Margaret Sitte is entitled to her beliefs. If she believes freezing embryos is immoral, she should not freeze any. But for her to decide what is right and wrong for everyone else and try to pass laws to that effect is just plain wrong. Speaking on behalf of the infertile among us, these frozen embryos are constantly on our minds. THEY CERTAINLY ARE NOT LIKE A POT ROAST. Margaret Sitte’s views are radical and extreme. She is one of the sponsors of Measure 1 on the General Election ballot. This highly problematic, poorly written proposal - dubbed by its supporters as the Human Life Amendment - is opposed by the North Dakota Coalition for Privacy in Healthcare. In regard to Measure 1, this group stated, Couples who want to bring new life into the world could be devastated by this anti-family legislation. A personhood law could ban in vitro fertilization (IVF) and affect families who are storing frozen embryos. We urge people across the state to vote “no” with us on Measure 1 and to hold legislators accountable for the harm and heartbreak they’ve already caused by also voting “no” to people like Margaret Sitte. Sincerely, Todd and Tonya Hunskor Minot, ND This is how Margaret Sittes words and actions have affected real people. Our question for you: What is each one of us going to do to UNSEAT SITTE beyond talking on Facebook? District 35 is going to need PEOPLE POWER to do it. Call 701-255-0460 and ask for Alison to volunteer your time in order to prevent these kinds of heart-wrenching letters from being written in the future.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 17:04:14 +0000
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