Creating Life After 40: Birthday Fertility Fund

Dear friends,

For the Reverend Rachel Jo Bahr's 40th Birthday, we are asking for your help on our fertility journey, with the goal of giving birth to a healthy baby.

Birthdays are full of mixed emotions. This is especially the case for anyone struggling to conceive and carry a child. The Reverend Rachel (a queer Pastor in the United Church of Christ) and their wife, Gabrielle Bychowski (a teacher of Women's and Gender Studies), began the process of trying to have a child years ago in their mid 30's.

Life is often more complicated for an LGBTQ family. Creating life when LGBTQ is even more complicated. The Reverend Rachel is a disabled non-binary person and their wife, Gabby, is transgender. This means that they cannot create children in the same way as most straight couples. At this point, the couple met with doctors who warned about the fertility challenges that can occur at this stage of life.

What came next was multiple attempts with IVF. Halfway through the process, Rachel's health insurance changed and nearly all fertility expenses were no longer covered. To finish the IVF procedures, everything would have to be paid out of pocket.

Taking on over $20,000 in personal debt to complete the IVF attempts, Rachel and Gabby were devastated to see our two pregnancies end in two miscarriages.

Taking almost a year to recover emotionally from the losses of "Ziggy" and "Embry," Rachel and Gabby are ready to try again from scratch.

In this context, Rachel's 40th Birthday this November 9th comes as a joy and a complication.

Starting over again is really scary.

Starting over again is how we embody hope.

There are reasons to be hopeful. Recent tests show that the year between pregnancy attempts has not greatly diminished our chances. There is still time enough to keep trying, if we act now.

This is truly the start of a new chapter in our fertility journey and also the continuation of that ongoing love that drives us to grow our family. In our hearts, we still dream of a baby, a little Angel, who will finally get to come home with us.

That is why Rachel and Gabby are asking their friends and family to consider giving to the "Creating Life After 40: A Fertility Fund." If you can donate today, your gifts will go into covering:

Thank you to everyone for your kindness, prayers, and generosity,

Sincerely,

Rachel and Gabby