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Why Has Abuse in the IVF Industry Gone Ignored?
Research reveals how unscrupulous clinics harm would-be parents
A first-of-its-kind workshop titled “Defining Abuse in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)” took place on the leafy campus of Kings College London during the summer of 2019. The workshop goal was to address how professionals and the public can use the concept of abuse to question, critique, and understand the worst excesses of the rapidly expanding assisted reproduction industry and the related harms caused to women and children. The event came on the heels of a larger research project by Susan Bewley, an Emeritus Professor of Complex Obstetrics and Women’s Health at Kings College London and Nathan Hodson, then a recent graduate of medical school and an honorary fellow at the University of Leicester. Bewley, familiar with my decade-plus research and writing about troubling industry practices and patient trauma, invited me to speak and participate.
A former infertility patient, I’ve long been committed to bringing about greater industry transparency, improved patient care, and more longitudinal health studies. It’s been an uphill volunteer grassroots battle as there has been no formalized constituency here in the US (or abroad) calling for industry reforms, consumer protections, or independent oversight.
