Military families push the Army to ‘normalize parenthood’

Austin Carrigg wanted more children, but it wasn’t easy to grow her family, especially since her husband was an active-duty soldier in the Army. The family frequently moved from one base to another, and access to health care was in constant flux. 

Carigg and her husband wanted to avoid passing on a life-threatening genetic condition that their second son was born with, so they paid for intrauterine insemination procedures — which is not covered by TRICARE, the Defense Department’s health care system   — and used a sperm donor. The attempts didn’t work, and the couple couldn’t afford in vitro fertilization procedures. 

Military families push the Army to ‘normalize parenthood’