The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network

New Documentary Eggsploitation Reveals the Infertility Industry’s Dirty Little Secret

July 28th, 2010

For Immediate Release

Film Presents the Hidden Dangers, Health Risks, and Exploitation of Young Women Through Egg Donation

NEW YORK, NY/July 28, 2010 – The infertility industry has a dirty little secret that is dressed in deceptive advertising, large monetary incentives and appeals to altruism. Using these tactics, the industry targets young, vulnerable women for a precious commodity: human eggs. Eggsploitation, a new documentary released today by The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network, is a tragic spotlight on the booming and risky business of selling eggs, and reveals the health risks and exploitation of women through egg donation. Eggsploitation debuts at The Little Theatre in Rochester, New York, on Monday, August 9, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. … Read the rest of this entry »

The Eggsploited: When Two Markets Collide

July 8th, 2010

By Jennifer Lahl, CBC National Director

Louise Brown was born in the United Kingdom on July 25, 1978, the world’s first test-tube baby, conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Just five years later in Australia, fertility doctors used the first donor egg in an IVF procedure. Since then, IVF technologies have been accepted almost entirely without criticism as the treatment of choice for couples struggling with infertility. These technologies have become so mainstream that we now see IVF treatments being used by couples with otherwise healthy and functioning reproductive bodies. … Read the rest of this entry »

Wesley J. Smith, Special Consultant to the CBC, on Loan to Australia

July 21st, 2010

By Wesley J. Smith, J.D., Special Consultant to the CBC
I am in Sydney Airport waiting for the first leg of an 18 hour trip home. I thought I would reflect on the last two very busy and intense weeks, and what I hope was accomplished.
The last time I was asked to tour Australia, in [...]

A Review of Splice

June 24th, 2010

By Matthew Eppinette, CBC New Media Manager
Splice is a science fiction / horror film about genetic experimentation gone wrong. Clive and Elsa (Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley) are scientists working to combine strands of DNA from multiple animals to create a new organism that will generate proteins aimed at curing animal diseases. Achieving [...]

Presumptuous Consent

June 16th, 2010

By Jennifer Lahl, CBC National Director
Since organ donation became the recommended treatment of choice for many patients with end-stage organ failure, the controversy over the number of available organs for transplant and the solutions to addressing the shortage of much needed organs for those on waiting lists has been an on-going discussion. Proposed solutions [...]

Regulate Synthetic Life Science While the Horse is Still in the Barn

June 10th, 2010

By Wesley J. Smith, J.D., Special Consultant to the CBC
The media was all atwitter a few weeks ago when scientists announced that they had created synthetic life. Technically, that isn’t true—if by synthetic life one means creating life out of non life. Rather, scientists took a living bacterium, removed its genetic content, and replaced it [...]