Chicago nonprofit helps fund fertility treatment for people of color
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People of color seeking fertility treatment in Chicago could get financial help under a new program.
Why it matters: Some studies show that Black people are twice as likely as their white counterparts to face infertility, but they are less likely to access assisted reproductive treatments.
Driving the news: Chicago nonprofit The Broken Brown Egg and fertility benefits company Progyny are giving away two $10,000 grants to help individuals and couples of color pay for fertility treatments, including medications.
- The deadline to apply is Dec. 8.
By the numbers: Treatments such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) can range anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 per cycle, according to Forbes. For many, infertility treatments aren't covered by health insurance.
State of play: Regina Townsend started The Broken Brown Egg after she and her husband tried for nearly a decade to get pregnant. She shared their journey in the book "Make IF Make Sense" in the hopes of helping others facing fertility struggles feel less lonely.
What they're saying: The grant "seeks to educate and encourage families of color to take a decisive step against the myth that BIPOC couples and individuals are somehow exempt from needing fertility care," Townsend tells Axios.
- "In Chicago, for example, how many fertility clinics do we see in communities of color? There aren't any."
The big picture: Pew research found that about 26% of Black participants had received or had known someone who received fertility treatment — the lowest percentage of the racial groups surveyed. Nearly half of the white respondents answered yes.