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Hidden Stories of Surrogacy

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In the wake of our breaking the story of Brooke, a surrogate in Idaho who died in the late stages of pregnancy, I’ve been contacted by women who served as surrogates and had life-threatening complications. Nancy was a surrogate in Canada who almost died. In her own words, this is her story. I wanted to […]

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4th Year of Paul Ramsey Institute Begins This Week

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Dear Friend, This week we begin our fourth year of our Paul Ramsey Institute as we welcome the second cohort of Ramsey Fellows to San Francisco for our Fall gathering. We’re pleased to announce that our new cohort includes students from the University of Chicago, Cornell Medical School, Claremont University, and New York University, to […]

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Governor Brown Delivers Death Sentence to California

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It is with heavy hearts that we at the CBC report that Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law ABx2 15.  California becomes the fifth state to allow physician assisted suicide after Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Vermont. In his signing message to the California State Assembly, Governor Brown states that he weighed the arguments of […]

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The Rest of the Story

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Dear Friend, This summer the Supreme Court handed down a decision that will forever change the nature of our work at the Center for Bioethics and Culture. Now that same-sex marriage is allowed in all 50 states, the movement for “marriage equality” has shifted to a push for “family equality.” This is a game changer […]

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Outreach Opportunity

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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 […]

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The Birds and the Bees and Children’s Literature

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When my children were younger we spent a lot of time at our local public library. We went to the weekly story time and the annual fairs, joined the summer reading programs to win prizes for books read, and spent a lot of time sitting on rugs and tiny chairs reading, reading, and reading. It’s […]

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Surrogacy and Same-Sex Marriage: A Tale of Two Countries

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As skeptics in Ireland feared and the naïve in the United States are now realizing, “marriage equality” inevitably leads to the push for “family equality” through third-party reproduction. Just days before Irish citizens voted in favor of same-sex marriage in May, a headline in the Independent warned: “surrogacy fears could sink ‘Yes’ campaign.” During the […]

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New Documentary Exposes the Exploitation of Another Egg “Donor”

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Jennifer Lahl and The Center for Bioethics and Culture, producers of the award-winning Eggsploitation (2010, 2013), Anonymous Father’s Day (2011), and Breeders: A Subclass of Women? (2014), announce the release of their new documentary short, Eggsploitation: Maggie’s Story. Eggsploitation: Maggie’s Story follows one woman’s journey of learning about “helping” others have a child they desperately […]

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“Family Equality” Exploits Women as Breeders

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Dear Friend of the CBC, On Monday, I alerted you to the fact that law professor Douglas NeJaime believes that marriage equality must yield “family equality,” thanks to Justice Kennedy. On Tuesday and Wednesday, I warned that this would lead to the exploitation of women’s bodies through egg donation, and would have serious harms for […]

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“Family Equality” Means Children Lose Biological Ties

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Dear Friend of the CBC: Over the past two days we’ve tried to paint a picture of the brave new world of “family equality” that folks like Justice Kennedy and law professor Douglas NeJaime envision for our future. Well, we’re not quite done yet—because the world that they are crusading for will result in some […]

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“Family Equality” Requires Eggsploitation

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Dear Friend of the CBC: Yesterday we reported on an article in the Los Angeles Times calling for “family equality” in light of the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize gay marriage in all fifty states. Among the many egregious omissions in the article are the harms to women who agree to serve as egg donors […]

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What Justice Kennedy Failed to Mention

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Dear Friend of the CBC: Just a few hours after Friday’s decision from the Supreme Court allowing for same-sex marriage in all fifty states, an article in the Los Angeles Times lamented that “marriage equality doesn’t immediately or necessarily erase cultural and legal attachments to biological, dual-gender parenting.” Translation: those of us concerned with assisted […]

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Give Cindy Back Her Babies – An Update

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I first wrote about Cindy Close and her custody battle for her children in 2012. Cindy’s story is also featured in our film Breeders: A Subclass of Women?, and I have been following her case since the beginning, waiting for justice to be served. A brief recap: Cindy and Marvin McMurrey III were long-time friends […]

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Good News, Bad News

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I’m writing with good news and bad news. First, the good news: we have been surveying audiences who have watched Eggsploitation for several years now. The data show that overwhelmingly, before watching Eggsploitation, people are largely favorable to the practice although unfamiliar with the process of egg donation. But after watching Eggsploitation, people feel better […]

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Stop Surrogacy Now Launches

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Media Contact: media@stopsurrogacynow.com We are Part of A Worldwide Coalition to End Surrogacy and the Exploitation of Women and Children San Francisco, CA/May 11, 2015 — Stop Surrogacy Now launches today. Stop Surrogacy Now brings together a worldwide, ethnically, religiously, and culturally diverse group opposed to the exploitation of women and the human trafficking of […]

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A “Product of Surrogacy” (Interview Video)

Last weekend we held The Twelfth Annual Paul Ramsey Award Dinner, and it was a great success. As part of the evening, I interviewed Jessica Kern, a young woman who was born through a commercial surrogacy arrangement and who describes herself as "a product of surrogacy." It was moving and powerful to hear her story, […]

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The Hague Conference on Private International Law

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NOTE: Yesterday we filed the letter below with The Hague Conference on Private International Law. In addition, we have joined with a number of other organizations to petition the Hague, calling for an end to surrogacy.  24 March 2015 To Whom It May Concern: The Center for Bioethics and Culture (CBC) is pleased to submit […]

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CBC on the Road: A Report from Paris, France

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This week Jennifer Lahl and I represented the CBC in Paris for the introduction of the French translation of our surrogacy documentary, Breeders: A Subclass of Women? (which is also available to watch online). We’re pleased to report that our work and film were greeted with much enthusiasm by the audience of over 600 French […]

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