Ruth Institute Blog

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…

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…

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…

A horror story from Utah shows the crumbling ethical foundations of the assisted reproduction industry.

by Michael Cook

After five million children, IVF is no longer controversial. Creating children in a Petri dish for infertile couples is regarded as so splendid a Good Deed that the scientist who created the technique, Robert Edwards, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2010. Read more…

by Shannon Roberts

Though this article is about New Zealand, doubtlessly these facts are true in the U.S. and many other places, sadly.

by Shannon Roberts

From the CBC:

Film has been an essential part of our work over the past three years. Our 2011 award winning documentary, Eggsploitation, which showcases the stories of women who were seriously harmed selling their eggs has now been screened on over 50 college and university campuses and sold into over 30 countries. Our 2012 follow-up, Anonymous Father’s Day, which features young adult children conceived through anonymous sperm donation has also been widely popular and we’re anticipating even more success with the release of our film on surrogacy, Breeders: A Subclass of Women?, which is scheduled for release later this month. Read more…

by Jennifer Lahl

This article was first published at thepublicdiscourse.com on November 1, 2013.

Assistive reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization not only involve serious medical risks, they also disrupt family life and commodify human beings. Read more…