Just over a year ago, I stayed up until 2 a.m. editing a story, because the deadline was harder than most: The writer, Madeleine Kearns, was on the brink of giving birth. And the story in question was about what she had gone through to bring her baby into the world. Many of you read—and loved!—that story, but for those who didn’t: After struggling with pain and infertility, which no mainstream doctor could conclusively explain, Maddy sought out something called “restorative reproductive medicine” in order to conceive her daughter.
It’s a branch of medicine that’s often misrepresented in left-leaning outlets as conservative quackery, because it was pioneered by Catholic surgeons as an alternative to in vitro fertilization (IVF), to which the Church is opposed. Just last week, it was characterized in “The New York Times” as “an approach that many medical experts argue may give false hope to couples who have not been able to have children.” But for Maddy, it felt like her only hope.
And it worked. Her daughter was born exactly a year ago tomorrow. (Happy birthday to her!) At the time, Maddy and I spoke a lot about how, even though she sought the treatment because she’s Catholic, it could help so many women who aren’t, for whom IVF isn’t an option. But in her piece today—a response to the “Times” article—Maddy argues that politicizing this treatment could deter people from seeking it. —Freya Sanders
The left-leaning press is wildly suspicious about the medical intervention that allowed me to become a mother.
“A faction of Christian conservatives and MAHA-heads have joined forces to advocate for ‘restorative reproductive medicine,’” warns The Cut, explaining that its proponents operate “on the flawed assumption that infertility can be treated with lifestyle modifications like diet, exercise, and cycle charting.”
Meanwhile the Guardian wonders if it is “the right’s path to limiting IVF.”
And, just last week, The New York Times described it as “an approach that many medical experts argue may give false hope to couples who have not been able to have children.”
