September 28, 2003 Harrisburg PA

Peggy Kramer climbed into the car just before 6 AM and slept till they were nearly at Harrisburg. She would not waste travel time without deriving benefit. She arrived at the clinic at just before eight. The nurse showed her to a room and she was prepared for the doctor. Dr. Butler arrived about five minutes after Peggy and was ready to see her when she when she came in. Dr. Butler had seen Peggy’s records the day before and was prepared for what she would see.

After the exam she and Peggy went to her office. “You’re in real good shape.”

“So I’m doing something wrong, that’s why I don’t get pregnant. My sister gets into the same state as her husband and she gets preggers. Me, I have to be hit by a truck.”

“It’s something like that. You had two children close together and then couldn’t get pregnant. You gave up rather than consult on infertility. Now, you can’t get pregnant in four months, four attempts and you get finicky. You think it’s any easier to get pregnant the artificial way than the natural way?”

“No, why.”

“It isn’t. In fact in most cases it’s harder. You might take over a year.”

Peggy broke down and started crying. “I can’t take a year of this, the mood swings, the morning sickness from the drugs, and what’s worse, the doctor telling me I didn’t do it right. I’m a failure.”

“Let’s get this straight. You aren’t a failure, the procedure didn’t work.”

“Maybe it didn’t, but I’m the one that isn’t pregnant. You wouldn’t believe how the men in the House treat the women who are pregnant. They smile at them, hold doors, pick up things for them, you know what it’s like to be pregnant. They look at me like, “what”s with you, get with the program. You’re making us look bad’.”

“I doubt that, it’s your self image that’s a problem. I do have an idea, though. There’s a provision in the law that says any woman who doesn’t conceive can be removed from conscription. You fit the syndrome and I could certify you as such. That’d take you out of the program.”

“That’d only make it worse. I like my idea of having my next procedure filmed. Let them get a close-up of the doctor sticking that tube up you know and squirting the stuff in me. Let them see me lay there with my ass up in the air, hoping it takes so some woman has a child and I don’t have to do it again for nothing. God, I’d do it ten times if I knew it’d work even once, I’d even do it ten times and be pregnant for 7 of the next ten years, but I can’t stand this doing it and not knowing if it’ll fail. Maybe they’ll believe it they saw it on film. Would you do it and let me have it filmed? I’m due for the next implant in another week.”