Diane Harrill helps make families.

The 49-year-old has given birth to nine children. But they’re not all genetically hers. She has five biological children, aged 13 to 30, and she has been a gestational carrier for four others. She calls the four her “surro-babies,” but doesn’t consider them her children.

“I love those babies, but not the way a mother loves a child,” Harrill said. “You love them, you think of them, but not every day. I think about what they’ll be when they grow up, just like my own kids. I remember their birthdays. But I don’t worry about them, because I know the parents. They were never mine.”

Gestational carriers bring embryos to term that are not genetically their own. The term “surrogate“ is commonly used in place of gestational carrier, but surrogates have genetic connections to the embryo.

The use of gestational carriers is up in recent years. Their numbers increased 13 percent in 2011 from the previous year, according to the most recently available data from the Society of Assisted Reproductive Technologies. The society says totals are up 99 percent since 2004.

Harill was first pregnant as a gestational carrier in 2004 when she was 41. Harrill’s sister-in-law introduced her to a couple unable to conceive, and Harrill says she had no reservations about carrying the child.

“I didn’t think anything of it,” she said. “I didn’t know what was all entailed — 12 weeks of shots, and if it doesn’t take the first time, you do it all again.”

Despite the increased use in gestational carriers across the country, the concept remains new in the Green Bay area. In 2004, Harrill couldn’t find an attorney to help draft a contract.

Typically before implantation, the gestational carrier and intended parents agree to a contract to address all contingencies before, during and after the pregnancy. Those issues include what to do if the pregnancy needs to be terminated, the level of contact, if any, a carrier will have with the family after the birth and what compensation the carrier will receive.

After working out the details, Harrill became pregnant on the first cycle of fertilization. Nine months later, she delivered a healthy baby via caesarean section.

“I’d been blase whole pregnancy,” she said. The intended mother “said all the time, ‘This is so wonderful, what you‘re doing.’ I just completely blew that off … (after the birth) she looked at me, she said, ‘You know, you just made a family.’

“And boing! A lightbulb went off. I got it,” Harrill said. “I went back to my room, tearing up, and my mom said, ‘See, I knew you’d have a hard time letting go of that baby.’ And I said, ‘No, I just got what I did! I just got it.’ They walked in two, walked out three, it’s a family. It’s pretty cool and that really hit home.”

A carrier is typically the last result for most couples looking to conceive, said Carmen Tust, a registered nurse and infertility coordinator for 16 years at Women’s Specialty Care, a Bellin Health affiliate.

“Our couples who have chosen to use gestational carriers have tried in one way or another, had in vitro fertilization and it never worked, it didn’t take or they miscarried,” she said. “They may have had a hysterectomy for whatever reason, or a physical ailment so they’re medically recommended not to carry a pregnancy.”

Physicians traditionally recommend intended parents use a surrogacy agency to connect with gestational carriers, Tust said. With no agency in Green Bay, they often head to Milwaukee or Madison or an out-of-state agency to connect with a surrogate and legal counsel.

Adoption is a similar concept, but it’s much more regulated, said Lynn Bodi, a founding partner at The Law Center for Children and Families and owner of The Surrogacy Center, both in Madison. Harrill connected with the family for her second surrogate pregnancy at Bodi’s agency, which has handled about 150 surrogacy cases in about 20 years.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s guidelines suggest a carrier should not have more than five previous deliveries or three deliveries by cesarean section, and at least one successful pregnancy. Both intended parents and carriers need to undego psychological testing. The society recommends carriers are between 21 and 45, and says carriers older than 45 are acceptable, but note pregnancy risks increase with advancing maternal age.

“Getting pregnant is easy for me, I’m a baby machine,” Harrill said. “I’m very blessed that way. I have super easy pregnancies … for me, it’s a piece of cake. I want to do one more … since I’ve had them all along, that’s what makes it so easy for me to carry again. I love being pregnant.”

Amber Boersma has delivered three children as a gestational carrier, including a set of twins. The 35-year-old who lives in Wausau has two children of her own. She is pregnant again as a gestational carrier.

“I can have my own children if I wanted to, I’m complete that way,” she said. “Now I just want to help other people grow their families.”

Most family, friends and even strangers are supportive of her pregnancies, Boersma said.

She said risks are involved with being a gestational carrier — just like any other pregnancy.

“If you understand why you’re doing it, it’s gonna be something that makes you whole, that will be meaningful for you,” she said. “It’s one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. It’s such a touching moment to see the faces and reactions of parents who get their children. It’s worth everything, all the shots and doctor’s appointments and appointments with my kids I can’t make. It’s incredible, amazing and no way to put into words how special that moment is.”

The cost
Using a gestational carrier can cost as much as $100,000 in Wisconsin. Carriers often receive between $18,000 and $35,000, paid throughout the course of a pregnancy.
• Surrogacy fee (between $18,000 and $35,000, do not normally exceed $25,000)
• Surrogate’s expenses: maternity clothes, missed time from work, mileage to doctor’s appointments, child care
• In vitro fertilization (between $12,000 and $17,000)
• Attorney’s fees (on behalf of intended parents and carrier)
• Agency fees
• Egg donor and sperm donor fees and costs, if necessary
• Approximate cost: $100,000
Source: Lynn J. Bodi, Carmen Tust and Diane Harrill’

—Originally published Green Bay Press-Gazette, April 2013

Jim Dietsche finished the Boston Mar­athon just 40 minutes before the chaos be­gan.

Dietsche, his wife and their three chil­dren were less than a half-mile from the site of the explosions when they saw peo­ple rushing down Boylston Street, where the bombings took place, in hysterics.

“There was a lot of panic,” said Di­etsche, a De Pere resident who had run Boston eight times before Monday’s race. “There were sirens all over, ambulance, fire, police — all with a goal of trying to push all the people away from area. It was very, very scary. We’re still frazzled.”

The Dietsche family sought shelter with others in the back room of a nearby store for 20 minutes, unsure of what was happening. After another half-hour, they heard the news: two bombs exploded near the marathon’s finish line.

“I was just at a loss for words,” said Di­etsche, who is the chief financial officer at Bellin Hospital. “I’ve seen video sever­al times (now), including a runner going down … I ran very close to that, that liter­ally was where I ran. I don’t even want to think about that. I thank the Lord for our safety, that I was able to get a hold of ev­eryone else out here that I knew. I’m just awestruck by the tremendous tragedy that happened.”

Dietsche noted that the race is typical­ly a celebration, but after the bombing, those happy times were tarnished.

“It was supposed to be … our kids seeing something historic,” he said. “This leaves a very poor mark on something that’s supposed to be such an exciting event. I don’t want them to face realities of real world yet.

“I love the event and the pageantry, but I don’t know if I’ll run it again,” Dietsche said Monday evening. 

…

Randy Van Straten, executive director of the Bellin Run in Green Bay, said organizers have “extensive” disaster and mass casualty plans. Local public safety officials, ambulances and hospitals are involved with disaster planning from the start of planning for the 10K, he said.

“We may adjust some operations as a result,” Van Straten said. “I’m sure we’re gonna sit down and look at experiences out there, and there will be lessons learned as a result, but I don’t know how at this point will it affect our plans.” 

—Originally published Green Bay Press-Gazette, April 2013

(Note: Original version had  multiple authors, edited to reflect personal contribution) 

ASHWAUBENON — Gov. Scott Walker, on his third stop in two weeks in the Green Bay area, said Thursday that recall-election politics are responsible for the state’s drop in private-sector job creation.

A report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Thursday shows the state is ranked 44th in the nation for creating private-sector jobs. The data, which covers a year-long period that ended in September, shows a recent steady decline. Wisconsin ranked 42nd for the year that ended the previous quarter, and 37th in the quarter before that.

Wisconsin ranked 42nd in the previous quarter, and 37th in the quarter before that.

While some critics blame Walker for the negative report, he said last year’s recall election created uncertainty for private employers, and that the six-month delay for the figures does not reflect the current state of Wisconsin’s economy.

“The first two years, until June of last year, we had recalls, protests and recalls on top of that, so a lot of uncertainty,” he said, “Employers are trying to to catch up from all that uncertainty that happened out there because of some of the protests and recalls.”

Walker was in Green Bay to push manufacturing initiatives in his proposed budget. He spoke at M&M Tool and Mold, 3300 Commodity Lane, a plastic injection mold product manufacturer.

It was Walker’s third stop in the area in two weeks; during visits last week, he discussed expansion of the school voucher program and gave a similar push for manufacturing at a De Pere manufacturer.

The governor’s budget proposal includes $630 billion in tax relief for individuals and employers, and $132 million in workforcedevelopment.

“Now we’ve shown we have resources set aside for tax relief … property taxes have gone down in the last two years,” Walker said. “There’s more resources to help manufacturers when it comes to production and … workforce development. It will help accelerate the rate of growth, particularly in the next year.”

The jobs report is based on a census of 96 percent of all American non-farm employers, public and private.

“We need to focus out on jobs,” Walker said. “We need to step it up even more … we still need to grow at a faster pace. (We have) gained jobs, the rankings are there on a volume basis, but Illinois and Wisconsin — Illinois’ unemployment is two points higher. We’re still better off than our neighbors.”

Wisconsin’s unemployment rate is 7 percent; in Illinois, it’s 9 percent. The labor report shows other Midwestern states are outperforming Wisconsin in job creation. Indiana ranked 11th in the quarterly report, Michigan 13th, Ohio 24th and Illinois 27th.

Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, blasted the governor in a statement, saying he was responsible for the state’s declining ranking.

The governor’s political ambition and adherence to a rigid, right-wing ideology puts Wisconsin in a “race to the bottom,” Hansen said.

“While the governor is flying around the country, campaigning for president and writing his book, thousands of Wisconsin families are suffering through no fault of their own, struggling to get by in an economy he created and which is among the very worst in the entire nation,” Hansen said. “It is time for him to stay home and do the work he was elected to do: create jobs.”

—The Associated Press contributed to this report.
—published in Green Bay Press-Gazette, March 2013

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, said she is looking forward to today’s vote to expand background checks to more firearms purchases, but said getting those in place as well as other gun control restrictions will be a “process.”

The Senate is expected to vote today on a proposal that extends background checks to gun show and online sales, but the bill’s fate was uncertain until Wednesday, when Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., announced that compromise. Several senators, including Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, have threatened to filibuster any gun control bill.

Baldwin said she supports the bill, and the vote on background checks will open the door for discussion on other restrictions, like gun trafficking, an assault weapons ban, and limited capacity magazines.

Legislation on those issues are all waiting to be brought to the floor for a vote, and President Barack Obama has said he wants new regulations in all of those areas.

“Almost 40 percent of gun sales take place without a background check,” Baldwin told Press-Gazette Media on Wednesday. “This will be an important step forward, something that has been carefully worked on, across the party aisle. We have a common sense proposal that I think will increase safety.”

Baldwin said she was “disappointed” with her Senate colleagues for threatening to use a controversial parliamentary procedure known as filibuster to thwart any vote on gun legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has vowed to press forward and is expected to call for a vote today. The majority leader seems to have the upper hand in that enough Republicans appear ready to help Democrats break a filibuster, which requires 60 votes.

“These measures to reduce gun violence all deserve a vote in the Senate,” she said. “The public wants us to do our job, to consider these measures. The idea of a small group of Senators (filibustering) was disappointing to me. ”

In a letter to Reid on Monday, the group poised to filibuster vowed to “oppose the motion to proceed to any legislation that will serve as a vehicle for any additional gun restrictions.” The letter signed by 13 GOP senators, including Johnson.

“If the majority moves to bring up a bill that I believe infringes upon or threatens the constitutional rights of law abiding citizens, I will oppose bringing it to the floor,” Johnson said.

Calls for tighter gun control to reduce gun violence have regained volume in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., last December that left 20 students and six educators dead.

President Obama traveled to Connecticut on Monday where he gave a speech at the University of Hartford urging Congress to pass gun control legislation. He also took aim at the group of senators threatening a filibuster, after citing polls showing 90 percent of Americans support universal background checks.

Jeri Boniva, executive director of the advocacy group Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort, said if approved, the legislation is a “step forward,” but the compromise doesn’t go far enough.

“Unfortunately, it’s somewhat limited,” she said. “A large number of guns used for crime come from friend and street sales, which is not included in the compromise that’s been put forth.”

Dale Raby, manager of Gus’s Guns at 1600 E. Main St., doesn’t believe any of the proposed laws will result in increased safety.

“Criminals and maniacs get guns somehow, they’re criminals by definition — they don’t obey laws,” he said. “It isn’t gonna do anything, it’s not going to protect anyone. It’s not gonna do anything about private sales. More extensive background checks, for what purpose?”

But Boniva rejects the idea that additional restrictions would be useless.

“The idea that we shouldn’t do anything because it won’t be perfect is silly,” she said. “Making it somewhat more difficult for criminals to get guns is the right direction for me.”

Correspondent Larry Bivins contributed to this report.

—initially published April, 2013 in the Green Bay Press-Gazette

A raise for the nation’s lowest earners has some support, but an increase may not have the intended effect of lowering the poverty rates.

Some businesses, economists and even workers question the effectiveness of a minimum wage increase.

Most everyone at Great Harvest Bread in De Pere earns more than the minimum wage, but with an increase of $1.75 an hour being proposed by the Obama administration, that probably would not be the case, said Brent Felchlin, manager of the bakery at 802 George St.

An increase would force him to “metaphorically tighten the labor belt to the tightest notch,” he said. “We’d be pushing people to do the best work they can as fast as they can, with an in-and-out philosophy. Labor is one of the things that can make or break a business.”

Many of his workers are younger and work part time. Raising their wages is feasible, but Felchlin said he would also would need to increase the rest of his employees’ wages to ensure their experience is rewarded. His prices would ultimately raise, and without wage increases across the board, in other industries and levels, he is nervous he may lose customers.

“People may not be able to fit (our product) into their budget,” he said. “I’m fearful they may be pushed from the mom and pop shops. We’re a small industry, driven by lower pay scale employees, and I’m fearful (customers) would do more Walmart shopping if small shops have to raise prices.”

President Barack Obama suggested during his State of the Union address raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 an hour. The move would be made in stages by 2015. After that, it would be attached to inflation. The White House estimates 15 million workers would be affected by the change.

The proposal is viewed favorably by the public. A USA TODAY/Pew Research Center poll found 71 percent of Americans, with a margin of error of 3 percentage points, favor the plan, 26 percent of polltakers said they were not in favor.

Some of the country’s lowest wage-earners don’t support an increase. Although Tierany Rugg would earn a bigger paycheck, the University Wisconsin-Green Bay student who works for the university said it wouldn’t come with extra spending power.

“Minimum wage goes up, gas goes up, groceries go up … the cost of living would be increased,” Rugg said.

But an increase would boost employee morale, Felchin said.

“Overall, though, a minimum wage increase would be a good thing,” he said. “I’ve worked minimum wage jobs, and it’s nice to have a little extra money in your pocket. I just worry about how to balance the business.”

The last minimum wage increase took place in 2009, and Felchin said it was initially a struggle.

“For a while, we lost money the first couple months,” he said. “We were not as prepared for it, and didn’t see it coming as soon as we could have. It took a few months before we realized we’d need to raise prices and cut back on labor.”

Thomas Nesslein, UW-Green Bay economics professor, said only one in 11 minimum wage workers is the head of a household, and a minimum wage increase has little effect on poverty levels because few of the working poor are affected.

“It’s really kind of sad that it’s not effective,” he said. “People focus on the wrong issue,” he said. “If you raise the minimum wage above the going market wage, the lowest productivity workers will lose their jobs or have hours cut back.”

Many people living below the federal poverty level, which is $23,550 for a family of four, are not working and would therefore be unaffected by a minimum wage increase.

In Wisconsin, 4.6 percent of workers earn wages at or below the minimum, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationwide, 5.2 percent of workers are paid at that rate, but half of minimum wage workers are younger than 25. Two-thirds of minimum wage jobs are part-time, with less than 35 hours a week.

“Minimum wage is poorly targeted, it’s a policy that just doesn’t help poor people, or helps them hardly at all,” Nesslein said. “Raising the minimum wage is not an effective anti-poverty policy, it is not good economics, especially for a sluggish economy.”

A targeted tax credit, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, which affects individuals in different ways, would be more effective, Nesslein said. He said minimum wage workers are typically secondary — teenagers or those who also earn money from another job.

“Even though with the minimum wage, there’s no direct government expenditure, it’s also totally ineffective,” he said.

Rick Austin, owner of Austin’s Grocery at 3823 S. Webster Ave., said most of his 60 employees are high school students, but some employees have been with the store for decades. He said he is concerned about higher prices for consumers, but also fairness among employees. An increase in minimum wage amounts to a raise for his least experienced workers.

“If you were an employee … at $3 an hour or something, they’ve earned their way up,” he said. “I can’t give everyone a 20 percent raise, and how do I rectify that to employees that have been there this long? I have no answer for you, but just can’t sustain a 20 percent increase in wages like that. I owe them my loyalty, just as they’ve given me theirs.”

U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Sherwood, said jobs are lost when minimum wage is increased.

“Small businesses often operate on tight budgets, and a sudden increase in the minimum wage can be unworkable for them,” he said. “These organizations have set budgets and a sudden increase in labor costs will leave them no choice but to lay off people or to freeze hiring.”

—initially published March, 2013 in the Green Bay Press-Gazette