When a former member of the ethics committee for the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) calls for fertility industry regulation we should sit up and pay attention. Earlier this month George Annas, a Boston University School of Public Health professor and chair of health law, wrote a blistering opinion piece, It’s Time to Regulate…
Tag: egg freezing
WIRED Reframes Egg Freezing Debate
Egg freezing inadvertently gave birth to a much bigger set of conversations. It began when the business and technology press turned its sights on the topic prompted by news from Apple and Facebook. Until just recently, any reproductive medicine coverage had been relegated to health, bioethics and women’s media outlets. The move to a much…
Worlds Collide (In a Good Way)
There are pros and cons to having two personas. For my entire career in the auto and tech worlds my business cards and email signatures have read Pamela Mahoney. I’m rather attached to my given name and, let’s face it, it’s a lot less intimidating to spell or pronounce than my married name Pamela…
When Did Normal Aging Become an Infertility Condition?
Come again? Did I read that wrong? Hasn’t aging always been synonymous with losing fertility? Menopause, anyone? Seems odd to call out normal aging as though it’s a disease or a condition that needs to be treated with procedures. In fact, the bigger question is why are women waiting until the age of menopause to…
Customers or Patients? What Happens When Doctors See Markets Not People
This week marks a year since Miriam Zoll and I authored The New York Times op-ed “Selling the Fantasy of Fertility.” The piece, which has since been nominated for a 2014 EMMA Exceptional Merit in Media Award by the National Women’s Political Caucus, had a wide reach and generated lots of discussion about the unregulated “fertility” industry….
With ‘Fertility’ Businesses Booming, Is Now the Time to Go Long on Kleenex?
It’s no secret that I was unable to get pregnant during my prime child-bearing years. What I possess today (and didn’t have when I was 29 and just embarking on what became a prolonged medical mystery tour) is a healthy skepticism mixed with a dose of pragmatism. My inability to succeed with Mother Nature, and…