No On 1376: Legislation In Search Of A Problem

I haven’t been able to get something Dr Fred Larsen, the reproductive endocrinologist that testified at the Senate hearing to oppose SB 1376, said after asking repeatedly what it was the supporters of the bill wished to learn with the information they wish to gather from the new proposed date and reporting bill.

Senator Barto gave vague answers like, “there are a lot of concerns, and we need to address them so we can make appropriate decisions about public policy, blah blah blah.”

When Dr. Larsen inquired about the source of the concerns, he could never get Senator Barto to give a clear answer.

It was then he said something I can’t get out of my head:

“This seems like legislation in search of a problem.”

I am glad that Dr. Larsen pushed the issue, and questioned the motives of the bill, which obviously hit a nerve with Senator Barto.

Enough of a nerve, that she revealed perhaps more than she wanted to.

Apparently, the Senator has concerns about the destruction of embryos, how egg donation is marketed by infertility clinics, and what the psychological impact is of infertility treatments on IVF born children.

So why not just craft the bill with a focus on these concerns spelled out?

Why the broad brushed application to all things related to infertility?

It is sad to see the Republican party stoop to such deceptive tactics to push an agenda that is obviously coming from a special interest group, without being truly honest about what their end goal is, or what their preconceived notions are.

How often is the current administration accused of the same thing?

I can appreciate the desire to protect life at all stages, but you can’t do that if you ignore the lives that contribute to the formation of life at its earliest stages–the mother and father.

I know that Lisa was meant to have our daughter grow inside of her womb.

Our experience gave me a gift of insight into the miracle that women have to give life…it is as essential to women as breathing, eating, sleeping.

I grappled with the religious implications and the Catholic Donum Vitae, but after praying and reading the bible, I can’t find any biblical verse that says “thou shalt not obtain the help of a doctor to have a child.”

The Center for Arizona Policy has undertaken some noble causes, and has done many things that I think are worthy of support. I know because the Christian radio station, Family Life Radio that my daughter and I listen to every morning on the way to school and at night on the way home often features stories about the positive changes they are trying to make to help people.

However,something has hardened the hearts of the CAP policymakers on the issue of IVF. Despite the obvious fact that infertility patients are working with doctors to create life, the concerns expressed barely even take that into consideration.

A group of men and women already enduring physical, emotional, financial and spiritual trials inherent in infertility, now face the possibility that without their consent or authorization, their doctors will have to provide information to the state of Arizona about the products of their own reproductive biology.

I wonder if these patients will seek out legal counsel as a protected class of disabled American citizens from this assault.

I can only hope that won’t be necessary.

Unless the sponsors of this bill can provide a candid explanation for why this bill is needed, it is most certainly ‘legislation in search of a problem.’