WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Wilson County couple is sharing their pregnancy journey after giving birth to two children through in vitro fertilization (IVF).
This comes as questions remain about the future of in vitro fertilization after Tennessee’s insurance companies are no longer required to cover infertility treatment following the Supreme Court’s abortion decision.
News 2 spoke to the couple, who are just one of thousands of couples who have traveled abroad to conceive.
“This is our son August. He is two years old. [will be] “This is our third child in a few weeks, and this is our daughter Parker,” Caitlin Parnell said.
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The Purnells have two young children who appreciate science. In Caitlin and Walter’s case, they shared their entire pregnancy through social media. After years of struggling to conceive, they decided to get tested.
“When you take the necessary steps to prepare emotionally and financially for parenthood, this hiccup happens and it spirals out of control,” Walter said.
The Purnells were told that IVF was their only option to conceive. A fertility clinic in Nashville estimated that each treatment would cost $25,000, which was not very realistic.
“Most patients seem to be paying the full amount out of pocket, but $25,000 is not a lot of change,” Caitlin said.
Through a friend, the Parnells found a clinic in Barbados that cost at least half as much and had a high success rate.
“Ninety percent of our patients do not live on the island of Barbados and have traveled from the United States,” said Dr. Juliette Skinner, medical director of the Barbados Facility Center.
Dr. Skinner was one of the Parnell family physicians. He said most of the patients who come to the island for treatment come from the United States, as only 21 states have some form of infertility treatment insurance.
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And after IVF treatments were halted in Alabama for a while, Dr. Skinner said many couples are feeling helpless.
“We have embryos left, but we haven’t decided yet whether to expand our family. I told him, thank God our embryos are not in the United States, and we hope they are I said I know I’m safe,” Caitlin said.
Now, the Purnells are sharing their story with others to start a conversation about IVF and let couples know they have options.
“Recently, we took a step back and realized, wow, we’re here, everything we dreamed and prayed for is here. Parenting is everything we ever hoped it would be.” Caitlin said.