December 11, 2024
(Wired) – “People don’t always realize they are creating a human being and not a piece of furniture.” For years now, aspiring parents have been designing their children. Screening embryos for disease-causing genes during IVF, selecting their future baby’s sex, … Read More
December 10, 2024
(Wall Street Journal) – This Lunar year, the year of the dragon, is seen as an auspicious one for marriage and births in Chinese culture. Nonetheless, 2024 births are expected to drop below 8 million, less than half the number … Read More
December 9, 2024
(CNBC) – A federal judge approved a landmark class action settlement this week between Aetna and same-sex couples in New York who alleged the insurance behemoth had discriminated against them and other LGBTQ customers seeking fertility treatment. Aetna, a subsidiary … Read More
December 6, 2024
(MIT Technology Review) – The UK is seen as a global leader in regulating reproductive technologies. Some worry that onerous paperwork is causing embryos to be wasted. IVF is a success story for embryo research. But today, valuable embryos that … Read More
December 5, 2024
HEC Forum (vol. 36, no. 3, 2024) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
December 4, 2024
(New York Times) – Labor and delivery units are losing money and struggling to find staff, in rural areas and large cities alike. Over 500 hospitals have closed their labor and delivery departments since 2010, according to a large new … Read More
December 4, 2024
(NPR) – The Taliban’s supreme leader has reportedly ordered a ban on women attending nursing and midwivery institutes, closing a rare avenue they had to pursue an education beyond the sixth grade. Human Rights Watch says the ban was ordered … Read More
December 4, 2024
(Futurism via MSN) – An infamous insurance billionaire has been accused by several women of operating a bizarre “baby project” to build a giant white family. In a wide-reaching exposé, Bloomberg reports that North Carolina insurance tycoon Greg Lindberg operated this … Read More
December 4, 2024
(Wall Street Journal) – Justice Gorsuch remains silent during hearing on Tennessee’s ban of treatments for minors Several Supreme Court justices signaled a willingness Wednesday to let states prohibit transgender teenagers from obtaining puberty blockers and other treatments, but the … Read More
December 4, 2024
(ABC News) – Many moms-to-be opt for blood tests during pregnancy to check for fetal disorders such as Down syndrome. In rare instances, these tests can reveal something unexpected — hints of a hidden cancer in the woman. In a … Read More
December 2, 2024
(Axios) – Legally induced abortions decreased in 2022, the year that Roe v. Wade was overturned, the CDC said in its latest annual report. Why it matters: Abortions had ticked upward slightly between 2019 and 2021 after years of declines … Read More
November 27, 2024
(Becker’s Hospital Review) – The Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee, which examines all pregnancy-related deaths, will not examine cases from 2022 and 2023, The Washington Post reported Nov. 26. The committee made the decision in September, reasoning that … Read More
November 27, 2024
(The Walrus) – Time, relationships, identity, and, yes, finances: for a few years, a child’s arrival can upend anyone’s world. But between the housing crisis, an underperforming child care system, soaring food costs, and a status-driven culture that encourages top-of-the-line … Read More
November 25, 2024
(New York Times) – Two couples in California discovered they were raising each other’s genetic children. Should they switch their girls? Alexander would convince himself that everything was fine, only to be walloped once again by the suspicion that May … Read More
November 25, 2024
(ProPublica) – The 35-year-old’s death was preventable, according to more than a dozen doctors who reviewed a detailed summary of her case for ProPublica. Some said it raises serious questions about how abortion bans are pressuring doctors to diverge from … Read More
November 22, 2024
(MIT Technology Review) – Around 135 transplants have been performed, but it’s probably too soon to offer the procedure to trans women. A decade on, over 135 uterus transplants have been performed globally, resulting in the births of over 50 … Read More
November 21, 2024
(MedPage Today) – Australian study explored screening for hundreds of genetic conditions Couples who were found to be genetic carriers for autosomal recessive or X-linked genetic conditions often opted to change their reproductive strategy, a large Australian population-based study found. … Read More
November 18, 2024
(KFF Health News) – On online baby message boards and other social media forums, pregnant women say they are being asked by their providers to pay out-of-pocket fees earlier than expected. The practice is legal, but patient advocacy groups call … Read More
November 15, 2024
(MIT Technology Review) – Women are also often subjected to medical advice designed to protect a potential fetus, whether they are pregnant or not. Official guidelines on how much mercury-containing fish it is safe to eat can be different for … Read More
November 15, 2024
BMC Medical Ethics has new articles available online. Articles include:
November 13, 2024
(Associated Press) – The U.S. syphilis epidemic slowed dramatically last year, gonorrhea cases fell and chlamydia cases remained below prepandemic levels, according to federal data released Tuesday. The numbers represented some good news about sexually transmitted diseases, which experienced some … Read More
November 13, 2024
(Axios) – Pregnant women or those who’ve given birth in the past year are likelier to be murdered than die from medical causes like preeclampsia or hemorrhaging, a new study in JAMA Network Open concludes. Why it matters: The findings … Read More
November 12, 2024
(Washington Post via MSN) – Women are seeking out abortion medication in higher-than-usual numbers ahead of a Donald Trump presidency that they fear could severely curtail access to reproductive care. Aid Access, one of the largest suppliers of abortion pills, … Read More
November 11, 2024
(Associated Press) – A conservative prosecutor’s attorney struggled Monday to persuade the Wisconsin Supreme Court to reactivate the state’s 175-year-old abortion ban, drawing a tongue-lashing from two of the court’s liberal justices during oral arguments. (Read More)
November 8, 2024
(Medscape) – First, there were “Ozempic babies.” Now, there is also Ozempic-before-baby. Unplanned pregnancies are still regularly being reported among people using glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) drugs, and now fertility specialists are increasingly incorporating the medicines into … Read More
