Letter to the Editor: Popsicle Politics
By Marcy Darnovsky,
Mother Jones
| 08. 31. 2006
Both "Breeder Reaction" and "Souls on Ice" begin to tackle the profound issues and difficult questions raised by new human biotechnologies: How do we take reproductive and genetic technologies out of the free-market realm of anything-goes-for-those-who-can-pay, while making sure that we protect reproductive rights? How do we reap the potential benefits of human biotech, while making sure that we're not on the road either to a brave new world of designer babies or to ever greater health inequities because of hugely expensive designer medicine?
A number of countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom, have put in place comprehensive policies to regulate assisted reproduction and research that involves human embryos. But not the United States—here again, we're a Wild West, with scant public oversight.
Related Articles
By Judd Boaz and Elise Kinsella, ABC News | 03.17.2026
By Ryan Cross, Endpoints News | 03.24.2026
Cathy Tie has an audacity more typical of a tech startup founder than a biotech executive. She dropped out of college to start a genetic screening company and later founded a telemedicine startup. The 29-year-old has been on two Forbes...
By Gabriele Pichlhofer and Tino Plümecke, Guest Contributors
| 03.25.2026
A German translation of this interview will be published in May 2026 in the German GID MAGAZIN, which focuses on the market for reproductive technologies. For more information, visit: Gen-ethisches Netzwerk
Egg donation is currently prohibited in Germany and Switzerland, but both countries have been debating its legalization for years. In Switzerland, a legal framework is currently being developed, with a first draft expected by the end of the year. Yet the debate rarely draws on scientific evidence. Instead...
By Paula Siverino Bavio, BioNews | 03.16.2026
State flag of Peru via Wikimedia Commons licensed under CC by SA 2.0
A recent surrogacy case in Peru had a good outcome for one family, but does not provide wider certainty for families, surrogates or clinicians, writes Dr Paula...