Hi there,

I have to get something off my chest. What really annoys me
about the IVF industry is the commoditization of human reproduction. The “father”
of IVF, Robert Edwards, was awarded a Nobel Prize earlier this year for helping
infertile couples to overcome the anguish of not being able to have children.
His endeavour sounded altruistic and humane.

Yet the need for technology and professional expertise is
turning the most intimate of human relationships into a profit-driven business.
It exploits the intense and unextinguishable desire to create a family for
commercial gain.

What sparked this brain explosion is a
beautifully crafted TV advertisement from a New Zealand bank touting
finance for IVF procedures. The professionalism and sentimentality make it all the
more cynical. If you want to watch an even crasser ad from the same company, click here.

Am I being naïve? Is exploitation an inevitable result of
assisted reproduction? What do you think?

Cheers,

Michael Cook

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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