After a two-year break, gay men interested in building a family will once again gather in-person to learn how they can have children through IVF and surrogacy in an immersive yet COVID-safe format that includes on-site rapid testing and safe catering protocols. The May 13-15 West Coast Surrogacy Conference & Gay Parenting Expo is the 9th annual event hosted by the nonprofit Men Having Babies in collaboration with the Bay Area's Our Family Coalition. It is taking place just as a bill that would make this process considerably more affordable for same-sex couples and singles has passed a crucial committee vote at the CA State Assembly.
SAN FRANCISCO, May 12, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Each year, the nonprofit organization Men Having Babies (MHB) travels to a number of cities across the U.S. and internationally to share a wealth of knowledge with gay men aspiring to become parents. These events include peer guidance, expert advice, information about financing and grants, inspirational testimonies from surrogates and fathers, and an opportunity to meet dozens of reputable surrogacy providers.
The Friday-Sunday event (May 13-15, 2022) will once again take place at San Francisco's iconic Marines Memorial Club & Hotel. It will kick off Friday evening with MHB's Advocacy and Research Forum, which is an opportunity to look at the social, ethical, legal and empirical aspects of surrogacy and LGBT parenting. The topic this time will be "Community Collaborations with the Surrogacy Industry: Roles and Limits."
Given MHB's primary advocacy goal to broaden access to affordable parenting options for gay men, several sessions during the weekend will be dedicated to ways in which prospective parents can make the process affordable. Topics will include how to budget smartly, how to take advantage of financial assistance and member discounts by MHB, and what opportunities are available to receive coverage of surrogacy-related medical costs as a part of employee benefits or state-mandated insurance.
The focus on affordability is also the drive for MHB's advocacy campaign for Fertility Equality, which is about to bear fruit in California, with the likely passage of amendments to the state's "Health care coverage: treatment for infertility" bill that will make it fully inclusive of same-sex couples and single parents. It does so by using the LGBTQ-equitable definition of "infertility" that MHB has been advocating for, along with RESOLVE: The National Infertility Organization, and the The National Center for Lesbian Rights. The new definition refers to infertility as not only a "disease" or "condition," but also a status. In particular, the bill states that infertility can be characterized by "a person's inability to reproduce either as a single individual or with a partner without medical intervention." The AB-209 bill passed the committee stage on April 26, 2022, and Poole-Dayan expressed the hope that it will become a law this year. Earlier this year a similar bill in Illinois took effect, and eligible gay men are already able to save thousands of dollars on their surrogacy journey.
"Our Family Coalition values our long running partnership with Men Having Babies and we are thrilled they are able to hold their 2022 conference again in San Francisco," said Mimi Demissew, OFC's Executive Director. "The education, financial assistance, and advocacy MHB provides are all very well aligned with our mission. It's equally important to remind folks that men do indeed have babies, and that men are also loving and nurturing parents. Events like this help affirm and lift all of our families!"
The 2021 West Coast event, and several other MHB events since the beginning of the pandemic, moved online using a specialized virtual conference technology. "We tried to offer guidance online to the best of our abilities," said Ron Poole-Dayan, MHB's Executive Director. "However, the complex process and highly personal nature of surrogacy parenting requires an immersive and personal experience, and a comprehensive educational agenda that is beyond the ability of virtual events."
By the fall of 2021, with early implementation of a vaccine mandate and additional COVID measures, MHB was able to once again safely host hundreds of prospective parents in New York, Chicago, and Brussels. Since then, MHB continues to adjust their public health protocols to correspond to the evolving nature of the pandemic. "Now that vaccinations no longer prevent transmissions, we are providing COVID-19 self-tests on-site so that all attendees can verify their status before checking in for the event," said Jenny Congiardo, MHB's Director of Operations. "We also ask everyone to wear masks unless actively eating or drinking."
Brad Spencer of Same Love Surrogacy, a Platinum sponsor at the conference, said, "we're beyond excited to return to the MHB West Coast conference and we are thrilled to continue our long-standing tradition of building LGBTQ families around the globe. The conference provides intended parents who are looking to start their journey to parenthood with the opportunity to meet best in class Surrogacy & IVF professionals."
Proceeds from the conference's sponsorship fees benefit MHB's Gay Parenting Assistance Program (GPAP), which provides dozens of prospective parents with over a million dollars' worth of cash grants, discounts and free services on an annual basis, from over 140 leading service providers.
"As a long-standing supporter of Men Having Babies, I am proud to be a Platinum sponsor," said Dr. Susanna Park from San Diego Fertility Center. "The sponsorship allows for the opportunity to host conferences whereby we can share knowledge about egg donor/surrogacy with men who have dreamed of becoming fathers. It is truly an honor to be part of making such dreams come true."
In addition to supporting MHB's mission of educating about the surrogacy process, the majority of the 40 exhibitors at the MHB West Coast conference share the mission to help make family building accessible by offering support through the Gay Parenting Assistance Program (GPAP) and participating in the Membership Benefits Program, including Platinum sponsors Same Love Surrogacy and San Diego Fertility Center, and Gold sponsors: Simple Surrogacy, Circle Surrogacy and Egg Donation, California Fertility Partners, IARC Surrogacy, Vios Fertility Institute (now a Kindbody company), Western Fertility Institute, Surro Connections, SurrogateFirst, Hatch Egg Donation & Surrogacy, NW Surrogacy Center, Laurel Fertility Care, Tree of Life Fertility Center, Alcea Surrogacy, Los Angeles Reproductive Center, LA IVF, Utah Fertility Center, and HRC Fertility Rancho.
- Registration now open at menhavingbabies.org/sf
- The event will follow MHB's COVID-19 safety protocol
Media Contact
Yan Dekel, Men Having Babies, 323-767-6000, [email protected]
SOURCE Men Having Babies
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