To twin or not to twin? That is the (unasked) question

A recent spate of articles celebrating the birth of an IVF 'twin' five years after her brother left me perplexed. Why was this news, when embryo freezing has been in use since the mid-1980s? And as the children were not identical by what definition were they twins?

South Africa shows a way to ensure more predictability in surrogacy arrangements

A new surrogacy law in South Africa suggests a way to improve those in the UK – by making surrogacy agreements enforceable. In the UK, commissioning parents can only find out after the child is born if they can become the legal parents...[Read More]

UK High Court grants parental orders in Indian surrogacy case

The UK's High Court has granted parental orders to a couple over two children born through an international surrogacy arrangement, ruling that payments made to the Indian surrogates were not 'disproportionate'...[Read More]

First of three women in US 'baby-selling' ring sentenced

A former lawyer convicted of wire fraud and other charges after her involvement in a 'baby-selling' ring has been sentenced to five months imprisonment by a Californian court....[Read More]

Irish Government advisor warns against failing to introduce ART legislation

An advisor to the Irish Government on child protection has expressed his 'profound concern' that failing to legislate in the area of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) may result in children's rights being violated....[Read More]

South African court sets out guidelines for surrogacy arrangements

A High Court in South Africa has set out guidelines for judicial approaches to surrogacy arrangements in light of new family law legislation which came into force last year....[Read More]

Comic Review: How to Have a Baby - The Comic Book for Infertile Couples

The 744-page book covers the causes of infertility, imaging techniques, assisted reproductive techniques, surrogacy, donor gametes and adoption...[Read More]

Can you trust your surrogacy lawyer?

Theresa Erickson, a high profile Californian attorney specialising in assisted reproduction law (self-styled online and in the media as 'the surrogacy lawyer') pleaded guilty last month to charges relating to her involvement in a baby selling scam. The case has sent shock waves through the US assisted reproduction law community, which is reeling at the disgrace of one of its best known members...[Read More]

TV Review: I'm Pregnant with Their Baby

The documentary 'I'm Pregnant with Their Baby' shows three women's experience of UK surrogacy. They are among a rare group who became surrogate mothers for altruistic reasons...[Read More]

Fertility treatment in Germany

Germany is said to have one of the most restrictive legislation in the area of assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments. In contrast to the UK, both oocyte donation and surrogacy are prohibited by the Embryo Protection Act. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) has only become permissible as of July this year – it can now be carried out if the child will be born with a severe genetic disease, or if the embryo is so severely impaired that the pregnancy...[Read More]

Lawyer found guilty of being a 'baby broker'

A US fertility lawyer has pleaded guilty to participating in what prosecutors have called a 'baby-selling ring'...[Read More]

Dead father granted parenthood in surrogacy case

The UK's High Court has awarded legal parenthood to a deceased father of a child born through a surrogacy arrangement in India....[Read More]

Artificial sperm made from stem cells

Scientists in Japan have successfully generated viable sperm cells from embryonic stem cells in mice. The sperm cells were able to fertilise eggs and for the first time this produced healthy, fertile offspring...[Read More]

The ethics of womb donation and transplantation

Last month news broke of an experimental womb transplantation surgery planned for early next year. With it came the possibility of women with an absent or non-functioning uterus carrying a child to term (see Roberts, 2011)....[Read More]

ART regulation in Canada – birth much delayed

It is not so long since I applauded the decision of the Supreme Court of British Columbia (BC) for promoting the disclosure of the identity of gamete and embryo donors to their offspring [1]. News that the BC Attorney-General is appealing the judgment to the federal Supreme Court indicates that my enthusiasm was a case of premature elation [2]. The good news for those of us who believe that non-anonymous donation is the only ethical form of gamete and embryo donation is that if the federal Su...[Read More]

A call for Ontario to regulate assisted human reproduction

In December, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) struck down most of the Assisted Human Reproduction Act (AHRA) of 2004. This ruling invalidated almost all Canadian federal regulations covering the many sticky areas of emerging Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR) practice...[Read More]

IVF, donor conception and surrogacy: Is progressive global regulation possible?

Assisted reproduction in the form of IVF, donor conception and surrogacy is challenging global attitudes towards medical science and is presenting a unique global regulatory challenge....[Read More]

Google Baby: A lesson in global capitalism

Zippi Brand Frank's documentary 'Google Baby' gives us a fascinating insight into the global business of making babies. The programme follows an Israeli business man as he recruits commissioning parents via the internet, US brokers and egg donors, Indian assisted conception clinics and gestational surrogates ....[Read More]

Niece became surrogate to help aunt with fertility problems

A British woman has given birth to her cousin, as part of a surrogacy arrangement to help her aunt. The 29-year-old mother of three became pregnant from sperm donated by her aunt's husband, to whom she was not related by blood. This resulted in the birth of a baby girl who is both her biological daughter and cousin....[Read More]

Surrogate mother gives birth to grandchild

A 61-year-old woman gave birth to her grandson in February because her daughter couldn't maintain a pregnancy. Kristine Casey, who may be the oldest woman to give birth to her grandson, volunteered to act as a surrogate after her daughter, Sara Connell, failed to bring two IVF pregnancies to term...[Read More]