Our Voice Matters

The Infertility Community's Response to PETA

By Keiko Zoll
Published in the Fall 2011 issue of Resolve for the journey & beyond

I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Looking up from my phone, I turned to my husband: “Did you know PETA is giving away a free vasectomy to a guy who spays or neuters his pet?”

My husband chuckled. “Is this some kind of April Fool’s Day joke?”

“No honey, I’m serious. They’re giving it away in honor of National Infertility Awareness Week.”

“Are you really that surprised?” he asked.

“No,” I began. “But I think this time they crossed a line.”

On March 31, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals launched a publicity campaign called Win a Vasectomy from PETA. The rules were simple: men could sign up, provide proof their pet was spayed or neutered during the contest period and then "one lucky man" could win a vasectomy and be "reproduction-free, free of charge, just like his pooch or feline friend." The campaign was promoted “in honor of” National Infertility Awareness Week, even linking directly to the RESOLVE website.

After brushing it off for a few days as just another one of PETA’s desperate grabs for media attention, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something needed to be said – publicly. The more I thought about it, the more I realized this was worse than a bad joke. By linking to the RESOLVE website – where the Bust a Myth campaign was already in full swing – PETA had only perpetuated myths about infertility in the process: such insensitivity and cruelty in the name of publicity.

But PETA did not expect the passion of the infertility community.

On April 5, I published an open letter on my blog to PETA President, Ingrid Newkirk:

“PETA has decided that it's acceptable to ridicule, devalue and trivialize the infertility patient community experience in the name of promoting responsible pet-ownership… Your Win a Vasectomy campaign is tactless, arrogant, hurtful, damaging, insensitive and disgusting.”

I called my readers to action, asking them to write Ms. Newkirk and other members of PETA directly, call their main office in Virginia and post their outrage on their blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. Sixty-three other blogs joined me in posting open letters condemning the campaign. Hundreds of tweets flooded PETA’s Twitter account while their phones rang off the hook. On April 6, I started an online petition. Two days and over two thousand signatures later, PETA removed the link between their Win a Vasectomy campaign and National Infertility Awareness Week.

I was making dinner when I got the news. Fork in hand, I stood there in my kitchen, mouth agape and dumbfounded: we did it. We actually did it.

We won.

For as much publicity this incident brought PETA, it also spread the word about RESOLVE, National Infertility Awareness Week and the need for a greater dialogue about societal perceptions of the infertility community and our experiences.

We were heard when so often we are not. It was hard to ignore the intensity of our voice when we came out in such numbers.  Where infertility has deprived us of so much control in our lives and bodies, we empowered ourselves to publicly confront an organization who chose to exploit our community -- and we succeeded. Our victory allowed us to regain some sense of control we so often feel we’ve lost.

And it felt good.

It felt good because it mattered.

For a few short days, we stood together as a united community no matter where we were in our journeys. In that moment of unity, our collective voice was strong, empowered and relentless and in turn, so was each of us. We became a force with which to be reckoned.

What happened with PETA serves as a powerful model for our community to come together and make real progress: one letter turned into an unstoppable surge of grassroots advocacy all because we each decided to act, to stand up and be heard. When we organize our collective voices into a coherent, passionate message, the effect is profound. This incident with PETA has proven that when we come together as an empowered community, we make change happen in that moment.

And that moment is now.

Keiko Zoll is a popular infertility blogger and women’s health advocate. She serves as the Advocacy Committee Chair for RESOLVE of New England and is the creator of the groundbreaking short film, "What IF: A Portrait of Infertility," winner of the 2010 RESOLVE Hope Award for Best Viral Video. She writes at her blog, www.HannahWeptSarahLaughed.com. You can connect with Keiko on Twitter at MiriamsHope or via email at keiko@hannahweptsarahlaughed.com.