The Eggsplanation

The idea of Reproductive Autonomy, which means YOU decide what to do with your body, is at the heart of parenting.  But is there a time when it's just too late, or that "ship has sailed"?  We will start our four part series on these very questions with a chat with Mira Seldner, a new parent of two, with an older partner.  We explore their journey to parenthood and the issues that having an older partner raises and the questions that older parenthood brings up.  

By whatever name you call, "Planned Surrogacy", "Social Surrogacy", "Designer Surrogacy" or even "LifeStyle Surrogacy", everyone can agree its a controversial subject with both the morality and the ethics of the practice called into question.  Today we discuss with two experts the choices people make when pursuing surrogacy as well as the pros and cons of choosing Surrogacy By Choice. 
Dr. Angela Lawson and Dr. Debra Simmons will join me as we dig a bit deeper into this fascinating intersection of reproduction, autonomy and beneficence.
 

Following up on our theme from the last episode, GENES and GENETIC screening and the BIOETHICS involved, this episode will by an in-depth look at Genetic Counseling and the good, the bad and the ugly of GENES.  Our guest from GENE-SCREEN, Emily Daugherty, will help us understand what genetic counseling does and doesn't do and does it support the BIOETHIC principles of Justice and Autonomy.

So what's all the hype about PGT?  Can it tell which is the best embryo?  Will it pick out the smartest and tallest embryo?  Is it overused and just an add-on in IVF?  Join us as we explore the world of PGT with Dr. Gary Harton, Chief Scientific Officer of NoVA Genomics and Founder and Principal of GROW Consulting and why PGT is BENEFICENCE in action.

Join our host, Mary Fusillo, for a fascinating look at the ethics and issues behind posthumous reproduction.  With the very sad case of a brain-dead woman being forcibly kept alive via mechanical means for over 15 weeks due to abortion laws in her home state prominent in the news to the use of sperm from non consenting males, our guest, Dr. Lisa Campo-Engelstein, the Chair of the Department of Bioethics and Health Humanities at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, will discuss what she sees as issues with Autonomy and Beneficence with posthumous reproduction.
AND....take a look at her newest book, "SEMINAL, on Sperm, Health and Politics at this LINK:  SEMINAL, on Sperm, Health and Politics
 
 
 
 
 

On this episode of "The Eggsplanation" I welcome two veteran egg donors who will help me dig down into what disclosure in gamete donation means to them and what their thoughts are on the genetic connections they have to the children created with their help.

In Episode Two of “The Eggsplanation”, Mary discusses two bioethical principles, Justice and Beneficence in gamete donor cycles with a Third-Party Parenting attorney and the evolution from anonymous donor cycles to known or open cycles with the owners of an Egg Donor and Surrogacy agency that has started down a new path in sperm donation. 
         Rose Pondel joins us to break down the various legal contracts that donors can enter prior to donating and what each can mean for the donor, the Intended Parents and the child and then Darlene Pinkerton and Kaitlin Pinkerton-Locher pick up the conversation and discuss how they are taking on the traditional field of sperm donation with known sperm donors, a departure from traditional anonymous cycles.

Mary Fusillo, RN, BSN, MS, introduces you to bioethics at the intersection of fertility and reproduction.
 
Stay tuned for our first full episode, coming in late May.