This week I read the article “Dads help Michigan Medicine start mentor program for same-sex couples expecting via surrogacy.” The title of the article itself caught my attention because it highlights a medical topic, a social issue, and an entrepreneurial spirit. This article is about the journey of the Taylor’s, a same-sex couple who had to navigate through Detroit’s strict surrogacy laws. In Michigan, paid surrogacy is illegal making it extremely difficult for same-sex couples to have children. Through generous anonymous donors, gracious friends, and an expert understanding of the law both Adam and Doug Taylor were able to have a child with their names on the birth certificate. All their hard work, however, was not just for themselves as they now serve as peer mentors for LGBTQ+ couples who hope to go through the same process.
This story struck me as one of resilience. In the spirit of social innovation, they took a misfortune the Michigan political system burdens people with and spearheaded a solution promoting social good. The very nature of this problem, however, irritates me because the solution is a bandaid for a much larger systemic problem. In my time at MedHealth and Duke Engage so far I’ve seen a small taste of the systemic problems plaguing Detroit and in this article, I am seeing a violation of LGBTQ+ rights that requires action in the legal, medical, and social walks of life. Moreover, my time at MedHealth has shown me all the inefficiencies just in the MedTech body of work so I can barely imagine all the inefficiencies in these three much larger spaces.
Overall, the spirit of this article inspires hope. The Taylor’s are making an immediate impact by mitigating the effects of injustice in Detroit and I am excited to see future progress easing the surrogacy process for same-sex couples.
This story struck me as one of resilience. In the spirit of social innovation, they took a misfortune the Michigan political system burdens people with and spearheaded a solution promoting social good. The very nature of this problem, however, irritates me because the solution is a bandaid for a much larger systemic problem. In my time at MedHealth and Duke Engage so far I’ve seen a small taste of the systemic problems plaguing Detroit and in this article, I am seeing a violation of LGBTQ+ rights that requires action in the legal, medical, and social walks of life. Moreover, my time at MedHealth has shown me all the inefficiencies just in the MedTech body of work so I can barely imagine all the inefficiencies in these three much larger spaces.
Overall, the spirit of this article inspires hope. The Taylor’s are making an immediate impact by mitigating the effects of injustice in Detroit and I am excited to see future progress easing the surrogacy process for same-sex couples.
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