1. Kickstarter Update  

Thank you to all those who have given to our Kickstarter campaign. We are encouraged. We are thrilled. Thank you!  

As of this writing, we have hit $9,106, 72%, from 72 backers! Thank you! We are grateful for each and every gift.

We are so very close to having this project fully funded. Please help us close this out ASAP.

#Give10 #Just10

Again, Thank You!

Live Discussion of This Week in Bioethics

2. New Jersey Governor Murphy Suddenly Concerned about Separating Children from Parents

On Tuesday, NJ Gov. Murphy signed an executive order that will keep his state’s resources from being used in “separating children from their parents” at our country’s southern border. I can only ask, where was Governor Phil Murphy’s concern about separating children from the only mother they’ve ever known when he three weeks ago signed a “gestational carrier bill”? Does he simply not understand what surrogacy is?

I realize this headline is a bit more snarky than usual. It comes out of a sense of frustration and a desire to draw attention to the very real disconnect many display regarding the need children have for their parents.

3. Efforts Continue to Expand Surrogacy

This year we’ve seen Washington State and New Jersey enact surrogacy-enabling legislation, and we’re watching developments along those same lines in New York. However, as this news item reports:

The international debate over surrogacy – including its physical and psychological effects upon surrogate mothers and children – is far from over, especially given new films and testimonials recounting the experiences of the women and children involved.

Simply put, we have to keep fighting against proposals to expand surrogacy. In addition, we have to continue our work to inform people in areas where surrogacy is legal that it is a dangerous and harmful practice. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean people have to do it.

This is why we’re pushing so hard on this new film, which will draw back the curtain on the role of #BigMoney in #BigFertility.

4. There is NO Right to Parent

A single father who used a surrogate mother said:

I think that, regardless of whether you’re single or if you’re older or if you’re HIV positive or maybe you’re experiencing secondary infertility, that you have every right to become a parent.

No. The DESIRE to have a child does not equal the RIGHT to have a child. There is no right to become a parent.

5. Egg Donor Eugenics and Coercion

Don’t believe egg donation involves eugenics? A Providence, Rhode Island Craigslist ad proclaims:

We are looking for someone who has attended or is currently attending a Top Tier school, graduated school or doctorate program.

Don’t believe it involves coercion? The ad has been taken out on behalf of a “high-profile” couple offering up to $50,000 for just the right donor. Notably, the ad completely brushes off any potential medical risks from the egg donation process.

Lagniappe

Finally, I want to leave you with some good news out of the world of of medicine and biotechnology.

In San Francisco, an unborn child was transfused with her mother’s stem cells in order to treat the blood disorder alpha thalassemia. This condition is normally fatal, and the the child had been very sick before being treated with the fetal transfusion. This baby, however, went home with her family a few weeks ago. She will require further treatment, but she is already in a much better position than should have been otherwise.

And in Spain, where Jennifer and I visited last year with a team from #StopSurrogacyNow, the new Deputy Prime Minister clearly stated her views on surrogacy in a recent interview:

It is called wombs for rent and it is the latest utilization of women’s bodies, another trade for sale. It is especially serious because it uses the body of the poorest women. There is no value in using euphemisms here.

This is good news indeed. Be encouraged!

This Week in Bioethics Archive

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash