ABSTRACT
Accounts of negative experiences in health facilities following pregnancy loss have been well documented by heterosexual couples, including staff dismissing the importance of the loss using insensitive language, and offering little information or explanation to patients. Some lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ) parents confronted the well-documented general insensitivity about loss that many bereaved parents have faced. The multiple factors related to the adversity many participants faced demonstrates the indirect but incredibly effective ways that discrimination—whether overt, implicit, or questioned—impacts the lives of LGBTQ people experiencing reproductive loss. There are also laws in several states that allow discrimination against LGBTQ parents by adoption agencies citing religious beliefs against same-sex parenting. The political uncertainties of homophobia, especially when coupled with economic precarity, continue to shape LGBTQ parenting and losses in profound ways. For those pursuing adoption as couples, most knew from discussions with others in LGBTQ communities which agencies they should avoid and which to approach.
