Dear Friend:

As we look forward to the beginning of another academic year, no shortage of ink has been spilled to describe the significance of the college years. College is an intense and formative period where friendships are forged, ideas are debated, and for many, long held views are challenged in profound and sometimes life altering ways.

In the United States, the college campus is ground zero, where students are targeted, recruited, and marketed to on the issues we at the Center for Bioethics and Culture work on everyday, particularly egg and sperm donation. College students are the number one supply demographic for eggs and sperm!

These practices use some of the most intimate aspects of our bodies for commercial gain. The results are far darker than the happy smiling faces in fertility clinic ads want you to know. Egg donation can have devastating health consequences for young women, and many children born through sperm and egg donation (and surrogacy) question the way which they were brought into this world, even though they are indeed happy to be alive.

Our unparalleled series of documentary films inform and educate on these important issues, which cut across traditional left/right, pro-life/pro-choice, religious/non-religious lines. Thus our films are an excellent outreach opportunity!

We invite you to consider inviting the Center for Bioethics and Culture to your campus to screen one of one of our films and/or to give a talk.

Eggsploitation
The infertility industry in the United States has grown to a multi-billion dollar business. What is its main commodity? Human eggs. Young women all over the world are solicited by ads—via college campus bulletin boards, social media, online classifieds—offering up to $100,000 for their “donated” eggs, to “help make someone’s dream come true.” But who is this egg donor? Is she treated justly? What are the short- and long-term risks to her health? The answers to these questions will disturb you. Eggsploitation spotlights the booming business of human eggs told through the tragic and revealing stories of real women who became involved and whose lives have been changed forever. Winner of the Best Documentary prize at the 2011 California Independent Film Festival. For more information visit Eggsploitation.com.

Anonymous Father’s Day
Thousands of donor-conceived people have a deep longing to know who they belong to, where they come from, and who they look like. What is it like to grow up not knowing who your biological father is or if you have any siblings? What is it like to find out that the man you thought was your dad is not your biological father, that your true biological father donated his sperm and is known only by a number? How does it impact your self-perception, the choices you make, and your view of life and the world? Donor-conceived people are demanding answers to these basic questions about their origins, their lives, and their identities. An official selection of the California Independent Film Festival and the Rome International Film Festival. For more information visit AnonymousFathersDay.com.

Breeders: A Subclass of Women?
Surrogacy is fast becoming one of the major issues of the 21st century—celebrities and everyday people are increasingly using surrogates to build their families. But the practice is fraught with complex implications for women, children, and families. What is the impact on the women who serve as surrogates and on the children who are born from surrogacy? In what ways does money complicate things? What about altruistic surrogacy done for a family member or close friend? Is surrogacy a beautiful, loving act or does it simply degrade pregnancy to a service and a baby to a product? Can we find a middle ground? Should we even look for one? For more information visit Breeders.CBC-Network.org.

Maggie’s Story
This 22-minute documentary short follows one woman’s journey of learning about “helping” others have a child they desperately want, what she discovered in becoming an egg donor, and the consequences that followed. Maggie was told how special she was, but was never informed of the risks egg donation posed to her own health and well-being. She was used repeatedly for others’ gain, but when things turned bad, she was left on her own to navigate tests, treatments, surgeries, and an unknown prognosis. For more information visit CBC-Network.org/Maggie.

Campuses are a battlefield for the mind and the body. Our films capture true and often untold stories that have the power to forever change the way someone thinks about these issues.

If you have a child or friend who is active in a campus group, or if you’re an active alumni of a campus group, please forward this email to those who might be interested in screening one of our films.

If you’re active in a campus group, we’d love to talk with you about screening a film or booking a speaking engagement on your campus.

To inquire about this opportunity, please contact us.

Thank you for your continued support in helping us share stories that matter.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Lahl

Image by DRs Kulturarvsprojekt via flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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