Liberal heriones Dixie Chicks share their story about infertility and IVF. By the way, do you have a crush on Martie too?

When the Dixie Chicks were abandoned by some in 2003 for Natalie Maines' comment about Bush's decision to start a war - one group remained particularly faithful fans of the trio.

The group lost many country music fans. Some staged record-stomping protests and banned the group from their radio stations, but they gained a legion of gay fans who appreciated the outspoken stance by the women. The Dixie Chicks' refusal to back down to attacks only strengthened their support from fair-minded lesbians and gays.

Emily Robison, the group’s guitarist and banjo player, says she notices more lesbians at their shows, because they're usually flirting with her sister Martie Maquire, who plays fiddle and mandolin. Robison explains, "They're usually on Martie's side. We always tease her that she gets all the lesbians."

Three of our favorite women share their story about fertility challenges in the recent edition of Conceive Online. It took more than two years of fertility treatments before Emily became a mother. She says, “After about six months of trying naturally we were aware there could be a problem. We had the basic tests done, and everything was normal. So we started slowly at first, trying artificial insemination to up our chances.”

After another year without success, she got more aggressive. Emily had a laparoscopy to rule out any problems. She was found to have mild endometriosis, “but nothing that would have kept me from getting pregnant.” Another six months went by. “Then we were ready to just go for it,” she says. Son Gus was born after Emily’s fourth round of IVF. His twin siblings, Henry and Julianna, were also conceived via IVF.

Martie also conceived her 3-year-old twin daughters, Eva and Kathleen, through IVF after years of similar struggles. Natalie is a mother of two sons, Slade, 6, and Beckett, 3.

In a 2006 interview with USA Today the band explains how their IVF experience influenced songs on their newest album, Taking the Long Way, which won an impressive five Grammy awards this year. In one particular song called "So Hard", Emily Robison confronted the problem of in vitro fertilization.

Robison told USA Today, "It was a bumpy road. There are many people going through this; it was almost epidemic among my friends and family, and with so many people my age. I had all my kids by the time I was 32, and I was having problems in my late 20s; so I wasn't buying that this was just about women having babies later in life.

"I felt like women need to know what their options are, so let's start a dialog."

Top Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY