Like many young girls, Mara Berton and June Higginbotham knew from an early age they wanted families and to become mothers. But as lesbians, they were excluded from accessing the same fertility treatment insurance benefits offered to heterosexual peers. Instead, like many other same-sex couples, Berton and Higginbotham, who live in Santa Clara County, had to pay $45,000 out of pocket to conceive while heterosexual colleagues with the same insurance plan had many of those costs covered.
New York City is home for me, and my number one professional objective right now is to make sure that the full breadth of the LGBTQ+ community has a strong medical home,
The federal government shut down at midnight Wednesday, the third such lapse under President Donald Trump, plunging the country into familiar uncertainty. For LGBTQ+ lawmakers, the standoff is not only evidence of dysfunction but also a direct threat to health care access, equality, and the stability of families nationwide. The deadlock stems from irreconcilable demands over health care and funding authority.
"The LGBTQ+ community is going through a lot right now and it's really important that our community have access to safe and welcoming healthcare which is why it's so exciting that we are now able to offer same-day appointments," said Paula Ellison, director of Callen-Lorde Brooklyn.