Title

The Moral Economy of Fertility Markets: Hope and Hype, History and Inclusion

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2020

Abstract

Tens of thousands of American women have frozen their eggs in hopes of buying more time to have a biological child. Fertility marketing comes too close to making explicit promises that are not supported by this medical technology. These commercial near-guarantees intrude on norms of informed consent and truthful advertising. But federal regulations fail to penalize offenders in a way that's meaningful or effective. This commentary responds to Michelle Bayefsky’s analysis call for transparency in the multi-billion-dollar market for reproductive services. It considers two issues that Bayefsky did not address: the history of assisted reproduction and who is left out of the egg freezing market.

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