I used to say it was amazing what you could buy or sell online- sperm, eggs, body parts, whole entire families and even grilled cheese sandwiches with the face of the Virgin Mary.

Now I marvel at what you can read online, especially about yourself.For example, last week I found myself listed on Wikipedia with manyothers, under the definition of bioconservatism.Sounds so biohazardous! Always On, a site where CBC newsletters arereprinted with our permission, has a comment from a man, calling me a fundy-mentalistin response to my concerns about women’s health and safety in relationto egg donation. I’m not altogether sure what fundamentalism has to dowith wanting safe health practices for women. The London Times, justyesterday, lumped my female colleagues and I into the “Crazy Collaboration“camp because pro-choice and pro-life women have found common cause andhave built bridges to work together. I call that strategic and nonpartisan, not crazy.

So if it is “crazy” and “mental” to be concernedabout the health of women, then I guess I’m a lunatic! In honor ofMarch 8th being International Women’s day, let’s keep our focus on thehonorable task before us- working together for human dignity, therights of all human beings (even those who would call us names)- andlet’s work with as many people as we can find common cause with,because one person’s life lost is too high a price to pay.

On this day, we remember those women who have died because of egg donation and the effects of harmful infertility drugs:

Temilola Akinbolagbe – England

Jacqueline Rushton – Ireland

Zenaide Maria Bernardo – Italy*

Aliza Eisenberg – Israel*

Andrea Dominguez – Spain*

Gildna Radner – USA *

Liz Tabrizi – USA*

* As detailed in Gena Corea’s “The Mother Machine: Reproductive Technologies from Artificial Insemination to Artificial Wombs”

Jennifer Lahl is National Director of the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network.

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