Ruth Institute Blog

by Jennifer Johnson

This article was first published at Clash Daily on February 15, 2015.

Did you see this article in the Hollywood Reporter?

23 Hollywood Moms with Same Sperm Donor and One Crazy Vacation

It gives a glowing account of 23 Hollywood moms who have used the same sperm donor to conceive children. Given the growing acceptance of sperm donation, I think it’s time we talk about the archaic, polygamous family structure that sperm donation is resurrecting. First I will show what this ancient family structure looks like by drawing from a well known historical reference and creating a diagram of it. Then I will show how the “new” family structure resembles the old when both are rendered according to genetic ties. Then I will compare these with the monogamous natural family structure. Read more…

BY NICOLE M. KING

The News Story – IVF babies face greater risk of mental illness

While IVF has helped more than 5,000,000 babies to be born, it is not without risks and complications for both the baby and mother. A recent study has shown that babies born from IVF have an increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders, such as autism and schizophrenia, both in childhood and adulthood. Read more…

Here’s an article that raises questions about invitro fertilization that I had not even (forgive me) conceived of! The crazy possibilities of what people can do to get what they want regardless of the feelings of the children being created are seemingly endless.

BY TAMARA RAJAKARIAR
Originally posted at Mercatornet.com.

IVF. Do you think it should be used for anything other than infertility? To fall pregnant after a husband’s death, for example, using his frozen sperm? Read more…

by Jennifer Lahl, CBC President

To: Members of the Louisiana Legislature

As I write, I know that many of you are not happy with the Governor’s decision to veto this bill. Others, perhaps, support the Governor’s action, and some, maybe, are breathing a sigh of relief at not having to add another law, particularly one with such far-reaching implications for the formation of families. Read more…

by Jennifer Lahl, CBC President
Post image for Egg Freezing: Beating Biology and Buying Time, But at What Cost?

Egg freezing does not really beat biology. It buys a small chance at giving birth, but at a very high price indeed. Read more…

It’s time the media and sex education told the truth about women’s fertility.

by Miriam Zoll

In a recent PBS “To the Contrary” show about the infertility industry, host Bonnie Erbe` asked: Why did Miriam Zoll wait until age 40 to try to become a mother? Here is my response. Read more…

By Miriam Zoll

A new study published in the Journal of Perinatology [1] online has found that in California from 2009-2011 there was a 24- to 27-fold increase in multiple births and significantly higher rates of preterm births, lower birth weights, fetal anomalies and stillbirth among infants born through assisted reproductive technologies (ART) or artificial insemination (AI) compared to babies conceived naturally. Read more…

COMMENTARY: Redefining marriage and family at the recent Fertility Planit conference in Los Angeles.

by JENNIFER ROBACK MORSE

This article was first published April 18, 2014, at ncregister.com.

Men and women on the front lines of the culture war have been saying for some time that the next step after redefining marriage will be redefining parenthood. The next arena for “choice,” they predicted, will be not just the negative “choice” of deciding to not be a mother, but the positive “choice” to become a mother. “When I am good and ready to become a parent,” the mantra will become, “I am entitled to have my dream baby, on my own terms.” Read more…

A gay couple’s government-funded IVF twins have created a storm of controversy in Canada.

by Margaret Somerville

The announcement by Quebec radio host Joel Legendre that, later this summer, he and his male partner, Junior Bombardier, would become the parents of twin baby girls has received much media attention. It’s reported that the babies were conceived using “an ovum bought from an American [gamete] bank” (if only one ovum was used, they are identical twins, if two, they are sibling twins) and are being carried by a Quebec surrogate mother, who became pregnant though in vitro fertilization (IVF) paid for by the Quebec government healthcare fund (RAMQ). What ethical issues does this scenario raise? Read more…

by Lise Ravary, National Post

So soon after the secular charter debate, Quebec is now tearing itself apart over taxpayer-funded fertility treatments for surrogate mothers acting on behalf of male same-sex couples. Like the charter debate, this one is also a multilayered cake of rights. Gay rights, parents’ rights, donor rights, women’s rights, taxpayers’ rights. Read more…