While we were making our latest documentary film, Breeders: A Subclass of Women?, we knew that it was well timed as surrogacy is becoming an increasingly pressing topic. And indeed, since we released the film in January, surrogacy seems to be in the news more than ever, several states are considering legislation that would legalize it, and we are writing and speaking on it almost every day. Our film is having a direct impact—it is being screened in community groups and on college campuses, people are buying the DVD, and others are watching online.

Last week I was in Washington, DC and Birmingham, AL to screen the film. This week I am headed to New Jersey to screen the film at Princeton. On my way there, I am addressing issues of egg “donation” (AKA eggsploitation), giving The Fredrika Wild Schweers Memorial Lecture on Women and Health at the University of Rhode Island. In addition, Breeders was screened at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium last month and will be shown there again this week.

With so much going on in the world of bioethics, the CBC writing team and I have been able to publish several pieces in prominent and influential outlets. I’ve linked to some of them below. We have more of these pieces in the works, so be sure to stay tuned to the CBC website, Twitter, Facebook, and/or Google+ to see them as soon as they’re published.

Through all of these efforts—which are only possible because of your faithful and generous support!—we have been able to reach and influence hundreds of people on a whole range of bioethical issues in just the past few days and weeks. Our reach and influence is your reach and influence!

Thank You,

— Jennifer

PS — Friends in the Bay Area: we are hosting a FREE screening of Breeders at the Vine Cinema in Livermore on Thursday, April 17 at 7:00 PM. Please join us!

 

Why Gestational Surrogacy Is Wrong

By Jennifer Lahl & Christopher White
National Review Online

On April 1, the Louisiana House passed HB 187, a bill creating a judicial framework that makes gestational surrogacy enforceable. The debate over the bill in Louisiana is only one example of the legislative battles taking place across the United States over the issue of surrogacy. Since the controversial Baby M surrogacy case […]

 

Inconvenient Truths About Commercial Surrogacy

By Kathleen Sloan and Jennifer Lahl
St. Paul Pioneer Press

The Minnesota Senate and House are currently considering two separate bills to legalize commercial surrogacy in the state (S.F. 2627 and H.F. 291). This is occurring despite that similar legislation was defeated just last year and a bill similar to what has been proposed in the Senate was vetoed in 2008. One would think […]

 

Surrogate Parenthood For Money Is A Form Of Human Trafficking

By Christopher White
Forbes

Last week marked the 28th birthday of Baby M, the child who was born from the surrogate pregnancy arrangement between Mary Beth Whitehead who was paid to use her eggs and womb and William Stern’s sperm to give birth to a child for Stern and his infertile wife, Elizabeth. After delivery, Whitehead decided […]

 

Biotech Babies: On the Moral Significance of Reproductive Technologies

by Jennifer Lahl and Christopher White
First Things
NOTE: Subscription required to read the full article

Suzanne is a forty-year-old mother of two who recently attended an Evangelical women’s Bible study in a suburb of Chicago. At this particular gathering the topic was infertility. The church had brought in two guest speakers. One spoke of how she and her husband had spent years unsuccessfully trying to conceive before they decided to adopt. The other related […]

 

Author Profile

Jennifer Lahl, CBC Founder
Jennifer Lahl, CBC Founder
Jennifer Lahl, MA, BSN, RN, is founder and president of The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network. Lahl couples her 25 years of experience as a pediatric critical care nurse, a hospital administrator, and a senior-level nursing manager with a deep passion to speak for those who have no voice. Lahl’s writings have appeared in various publications including Cambridge University Press, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News, and the American Journal of Bioethics. As a field expert, she is routinely interviewed on radio and television including ABC, CBS, PBS, and NPR. She is also called upon to speak alongside lawmakers and members of the scientific community, even being invited to speak to members of the European Parliament in Brussels to address issues of egg trafficking; she has three times addressed the United Nations during the Commission on the Status of Women on egg and womb trafficking.