In California, a bill that would allow researchers to pay women for their eggs is currently on the Governor’s desk, awaiting his signature or veto. At the CBC we have been very busy, working to make the very real risks of the egg retrieval process known so that both lawmakers and the public are fully informed.

Wesley recently wrote a reminder that California’s citizens were promised several years ago that the buying and selling of eggs was not going to be allowed in the state. But now that human cloning has been accomplished, “it’s promise breaking time!”

Jennifer has done several interviews on the bill (here is one that aired on ABC in San Francisco). In each interview she explained the lack of studies on the long-term consequences of the egg donation process, shared the severe consequences that resulted for the women who appear in Eggsploitation, and mentioned ways in which money can encourage people to take risks they might not otherwise be willing to take.

She was also interviewed for a USA Today article on young women who look to egg donation to cover college and grad school costs. The article quotes a young woman who has had a dramatic change of mind after seeing Eggsploitation:

With a lump sum of money that large, it’s tempting, says Radha Inguva, a senior at American University in Washington, D.C.

After seeing ads on Craigslist and fliers “all over campus”, Inguva considered donating her eggs, until the next semester when she started an internship with the National Organization for Women (NOW).

At NOW, Inguva saw a documentary film called Eggsploitation, by The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network, which tells the stories of women who had negative egg donor experiences.

Inguva concedes the film may be biased, but it changed her perspective on egg donation. Now, she doesn’t think the risks are worth the ultimate payment.

“I really feel like this is prostitution, because you’re giving up a part of your sexual health for money, and that’s not right,” she says.

It’s shaping up to be a very busy summer. But this is why we do what we do.

You make our work possible