Infertility Survivors Finally Heard
Performance review time, already, for the fertility industry? Yes, it’s mid-October so let’s check in on the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) confab. This year it’s billed as a Scientific Congress and EXPO. Per usual, there are a few eyebrow raisers. I followed #ASRM2016 on Twitter over coffee this morning. (A decision made easier…
It’s rare that male readers weigh in on the topic of fertility health and society’s response to the marketing of ‘fertility’ treatments. Such an occurrence introduced an added jolt to my morning coffee. More refreshing still were the “ah-has” that accompanied the insight-laden comment (a blog post unto itself really). Let’s annotate his comment further….
A new IVF study caught my attention just before powering down for Christmas. As much as I wanted to coast into the holidays and give my blog a rest, I couldn’t get this headline in The New York Times out of my head: With In Vitro Fertilization, Persistence Pays Off ‘Pays off’ that’s a nice…
Huh, Infertile? What?? I know. The headline seems somehow wrong, does it not? I’ll repeat the words slowly so you have time to wrap your head around them: All…Women…Are…Infertile…Most…of…Their…Lives. It’s mind-blowing mostly because we are not programmed to view infertility from this angle. This conundrum first came to light in working with a colleague on…
Doctor, con and IVF are not words you want to see in the same sentence. Yet that’s what you’ll find in this strongly worded piece written by Professor Robert Winston, author of a new guide on fertility. Winston’s scathing analysis of his brethren and the fertility industry that has grown up around treatments is all…
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…
On the heels of her recent BBC interview (Drawing the Line: When IVF Doesn’t Work) health advocate and blogger Lesley Pyne offered to have an in-depth chat about my latest writing project, Finally Heard. Grab a cup of coffee or tea (or libation of your choice) and join Lesley and me as we launch into…
Warning to those in a raw or vulnerable state: take caution listening to the interviews and discussions linked below. As I come up on my seven-year anniversary of The New York Times piece, Facing Life Without Children When it Isn’t by Choice (June 10, 2008), I can’t help but be reflective. If you went…
“I don’t want you to think I’m a quitter. I’ve fought for plenty in my life. That’s how I know when it’s over. To know when to move on…” The dialogue from Mad Men this week struck like a thunder clap. I nodded instinctively. While cancer is the elephant in the room for Betty, I…
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….