| “This Isn’t How Straight Couples are Treated” | This 2020 Women’s Health article is brief, but to the point, as it shares the experiences of non heterosexual couples within fertility clinics in the United States. |
| “When it Comes to Fertility, Access is Everything” | This NY Times article discusses the financial obstacles, as well as the legal restrictions people face when attempting to start their fertility journey. |
| “Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Recommendations For Improving the Provision of Assisted Reproductive Technology Services” | The journal Fertility and Sterility notes in this 2006 article that it is time to assess assisted reproductive technology services developed primarily for heterosexual women to “determine the extent to which they are useful for and accessible to lesbian and bisexual women.” Bisexual and lesbian women face unique issues, including the cost of sperm or legal fees if the donor is a friend, having to decide whether to switch sperm donors if there is no evidence of their own infertility, reconsidering which partner will be the childbearing mother if one is unable to conceive or carry to term, and in some cases, “feelings of internalized homophobia that may surface in relation to fertility problems.” |
| “Use of Fertility Services in Australian Lesbian, Bisexual and Queer Women’s Pathways to Parenthood” | This 2020 study published in Australia offers research on clinical pathways and experiences of LBQ (lesbian, bisexual, queer) women in Australia who use fertility clinics to pursue pregnancy. This study found that a main reason LBQ women present to fertility services is the desire to access donor sperm services, whereas heterosexual couples are most likely to access fertility services because of a failure to conceive. The authors argue that fertility clinics are geared for people with infertility or subfertility issues, and not for women who are just trying to get pregnant in a country that has a severe shortage of donor sperm. They determined that there is a need to better understand the “unique needs and potential vulnerabilities of female patients seeking donor sperm who do not present with fertility problems.” |
| “Efforts to Maintain a ‘Just Great” Story: Lesbian Parents’ Talk about Encounters with Professionals in Fertility Clinics and Maternal and Child Healthcare Services” | This 2014 article discusses the experiences felt by lesbians within the reproductive medical community. Data also showed that same sex couples are “not receiving treatment equivalent to what heterosexuals receive, or on the contrary, not receiving treatment adapted to lesbian families’ specific needs.” A study done in Sweden shows that despite the law, women in same sex relationships have to constantly defend and justify their positions as parents. “This in turn, shows that their parenthood has to be accounted for, a finding that makes sense in relation to the remaining presence of heteronormative ideals for parenthood.” |
| “Reproductive Health Care Priorities and Barriers to Effective Care for LGBTQ People Assigned Female at Birth: A Qualitative Study” | This is an American study on barriers in reproductive healthcare faced by LGBTQ women published in 2018. Women discussed getting their needs met, and the challenges they faced in the process. “Themes related to these challenges cross-cutting across identity groups included primary focus on fertility, provider lack of LGBTQ health competency relevant to reproductive health priorities and treatment, and discriminatory comments and treatment.” |
| “Fertility Services for Same Sex Couples: Policy and Practice” | This 2012 article by Kerry Anne Wykes looks at practices in the UK and how their reproductive laws are restrictive. There are varying levels of problems because of these UK laws, including “many examples of GPs discriminating against same-sex couples.” Many women choose to not come out to their GPs at all, having had negative experiences of health care in the past, with one person stating, “’The healthcare sector is alienating, unsafe and does not meet my needs,’ and another saying: ‘I work in the NHS and even I don’t feel comfortable coming out to my GP’.” |
| “Miscarriage Experiences of Lesbian Couples” | In a 2007 study done in the U.S. that followed women in same sex relationships and their experiences after a miscarriage, the researchers found that verbal language as well as the language on the documentation forms played a critical role in how those women grieved. They concluded that small improvements, such as verbal acknowledgement of the social mother as a grieving parent and the altering of documentation forms that acknowledges both mothers’ involvement, could promote couples’ healing after a miscarriage. |
