Military Family Building Coalition Officially Launches for #NationalInfertilityAwarenessWeek 2021
Launching for National Infertility Awareness Week (April 18-24, 2021), the Military Family Building Coalition Seeks New Ways to Support Active Duty Service-members in their Mission to Build a Family
Military Mission Requirements and Lifestyle Pose Challenges to Family Building, MFBC Offers Resources and Support to Active Duty as they Navigate those Challenges.
Here is our official launch press release:
WASHINGTON, D.C.; APRIL 19, 2021 -- The Military Family Building Coalition (MFBC) announces its creation as a newly launched non-profit organization committed to the mission of supporting active duty military members in building their families. The organization is built with a coalition strategy to develop alliances with other organizations that support military families and with those that advocate for infertility and adoption benefits.
The first of its kind, this organization was created by co-founders Katy Bell Hendrickson and Ellen Gustafson, two military spouses whose personal experiences inspired them to find ways to support active-duty servicemembers to build the families they want regardless of deployment schedules, fertility challenges, or financial situation.
The immediate focus and efforts of MFBC are:
1. Educating active-duty servicemembers about the current military health care reproductive health landscape.
2. Educating the American public about the lack of coverage and the need for support for family-building resources within the military.
3. Strategizing to provide assistance to military servicemembers by developing pathways to new resources and ensuring their mental and emotional well-being.
4. Advocating for change through partnerships with the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and Resolve: The National Infertility Association so that the American public can support our troops in this most important mission -- building a family.
Currently, TRICARE does not cover many types of reproductive assistance or adoption for military families, and their policies explicitly state TRICARE “does not cover non-coital reproductive procedures”. This means that the vast majority of military couples who do not get pregnant in the windows they are physically together timed with their duty responsibilities, or those who choose to continue to serve but want to preserve their eggs or sperm, are not provided the means to do so as part of their military healthcare.
“Military families face many challenges due to their service, and having children shouldn’t be one of them,” said Gustafson. “My infertility experience, and that of many other military families, is not just sad and frustrating for us. More importantly, it’s an American military readiness and retention issue as well as an equality issue. If we want our armed forces to recruit and retain top talent and have that talent ready to deploy, we need the resources to plan our families and address the challenges that come with family building and military life.”
“The timing was right for us to build this coalition,” said Katy Bell Hendrickson. “We’ve had incredible support from the military, the private sector as well, and nonprofit organizations we are bringing into this coalition. We understand the critical need to expand support for family-building options, including assisted reproductive technologies, and what this means to the military community.”
For more information on the Military Family Building Coalition visit their website.
Read more on military-specific fertility challenges here.
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About the Military Family Building Coalition
The Military Family Building Coalition is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting active duty military members in building their families. The organization is built with a coalition strategy to develop alliances with other organizations that support military families and with those that advocate for infertility and adoption benefits.