My Two Dads: Gay Fatherhood with Fertility Centers of Illinois
I am a loud supporter of civil rights, everyone’s civil rights – regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, economic status and yes, sexuality. It wasn’t too long ago in our country’s history that we had laws against miscegenation and I see no difference in creating laws forbidding people of different races to marry from laws forbidding people of the same sex marrying. What adults do with other consenting adults is their own business – not mine, not yours, and not the legislature’s. Don’t put restraints on others that you wouldn’t want put on you.
So, in honor of Gay Dad’s everywhere (and I know a few), sorry Lesbian Moms I missed out on Mother’s Day – I share this post about a local Illinois business helping people become parents.
My Two Dads: Gay Fatherhood This Father’s Day
Fertility Centers of Illinois Celebrates and Discusses This Growing Parenting Trend
Chicago, IL (May 20, 2010) Over 64.3 million fathers will be honored and celebrated on June 19th, including a very small, special segment of gay fathers, estimated at 1.5-3 million. The trend of gay fatherhood is one that has grown in recent years, with Fertility Centers of Illinois reporting a 25% increase in the number of gay and lesbian patients over the past few years and the Family Law division of The American Bar Association estimating there are currently 4 million gay and lesbian parents raising 8-10 million children throughout the country.
ER Doctor Matt Kippenhan and Psychiatrist Flavio Arana met in medical school, and knew they always wanted to have children. After 15 years of partnership, investigating several different parenting options such as adoption and surrogacy, and multiple rounds of fertility treatment, Matt and Flavio are delighted to celebrate this coming Father’s Day with their 2 ½ year old son, Kaiyen.
“We cannot put into words how much it means to have Kaiyen in our lives,” says Matt. “Every day with him is a gift, and becoming parents was a dream come true. We hope to grow our family further in the future.”
At FCI we support patients of all backgrounds, and feel grateful that we can help patients such as Matt and Flavio become parents. FCI has guided many gay and lesbian couples through the fertility process in an attempt to achieve their parenting dreams.
“It is amazing to be able to help couples from a diverse background reach their endeavors to have a baby,” states Dr. Angie Beltsos, Medical Director of FCI. “It is our goal to help them navigate the often complicated medical decisions that must be made and offer the emotional support needed to remain positive throughout the process.”
Relevant Statistics:
· Gay and lesbian parents are raising 4% (65,500) of all adopted children in the U.S.
· An estimated 3% (14,100) foster children are living with lesbian or gay parents within the U. S.
· An estimated two million GLB people are interested in adopting.
· There were an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 gay and lesbian biological parents in 1976.
· It is estimated that approximately 10% of the U.S. population or 25 million people are homosexual.
Sources: National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, U.S. Census 2000, the National Survey of Family Growth (2002), the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (2004), Adoption and Foster Care by Lesbian and Gay Parents in the United States Author(s): Gary Gates, Lee M.V. Badgett, Jennifer Ehrle Macomber, Kate Chambers with the Urban Institute.
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Fertility Centers of Illinois, S.C., is one of the nation’s leading infertility treatment practices, providing advanced reproductive endocrinology services in the Chicago area for more than 30 years. With a team of nationally recognized reproductive physicians, and half of all patients seeking treatment elsewhere before finding success at FCI, the practice has earned a reputation for overcoming hard-to-solve fertility issues. Due to the large number of patients seen and high success rates recognized throughout the nation, all FCI physicians, embryologists and support staff are stringently chosen based on educational background, medical skills and their ability to collaborate. FCI is part of IntegraMed, the nation’s largest and most reputable network of fertility centers and FCI has multiple offices conveniently located throughout the Chicago area. For more information visit www.fcionline.com
