HeyReprotech's November roundup of events, news and good reads

In the survey a few weeks ago, many of you told me you might be interested in a news and events roundup. This is a test. Below, please find a simple special edition Friday newsletter, dedicated exclusively to upcoming events, recent news and opinion, and a couple of very good long reads.

None of the lists are comprehensive — these are just items I happened upon. If you know of an event that you'd like included in future, forward it to me, and I'll consider it. If you read something interesting that others might like, by all means, send it my way.

Please give me your feedback!

Upcoming events and opportunities

01 Dec - Progress Educational Trust annual conference, online, paid - Reproducing Regulation: Who Regulates Fertility and How?

03 Dec - Yale School of Nursing, online - International Normal Labour and Birth Research Conference

09 Dec - Cambridge Reproduction early researchers seminar series - Can ethical and religious considerations legitimately influence a publicly-funded healthcare system? The case of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in Germany

Closing 31 Dec - Birth Place Lab UBC Survey - Were you pregnant in Canada in the last 10 years?

05-08 Jan - joint annual conference of the Association of Reproductive & Clinical Scientists, the British Fertility Society and the Society for Reproduction and fertility - Rising to global challenges

13-14 Jan - University of Texas Medical Branch, online - Reproductive Ethics Conference

Ongoing - ESHRE - Embryo Transfer Survey

Recent news items

Caroline Plante. "Quebec introduces family law reform, would regulate surrogate motherhood." Canadian Press. 21 Oct 2021.

"The bill would also give those whose birth involved a third party, as well as those who were adopted, the right to know about their origins."

"Medical group to permit preimplantation diagnosis in fertility care." Japan Times. 24 Oct 2021.

"Currently, the Society only permits the use of preimplantation diagnosis, or the testing of chromosomes of eggs fertilized in vitro, in clinical research. The restrictions are due to concerns that preimplantation diagnosis could lead to the selection of life."

Alice Hutton. "Married lesbian couple launch discrimination action against NHS." The Guardian. 07 Nov 2021.

"[S]ame-sex female couples, and single women and people with wombs, must pay for 12 intrauterine insemination (IUI) or IVF treatments to “prove” medical infertility, costing an estimated £30,000 or more, before receiving NHS help."

Neil Vigdor. ‘We Had Their Baby, and They Had Our Baby’: Couple Sues Over Embryo ‘Mix-Up’." New York Times. 09 Nov 2021.

Jo Tweedy. "US couple who found out via a home DNA kit that their son, 13, had been fathered by another man after IVF clinic mix-up reveal they're now FRIENDS with him." Daily Mail. 10 Nov 2021.

Armine Avestisyan. "Armenia: Mothers Bereaved by War Offered IVF.." Institute for War and Peace Reporting. 15 Nov 2021.

"Qaryan became pregnant after six months of fertility treatment under a new Armenian initiative that provides free procedures for parents who lost children during the 2020 war."

Dave Collins. "Women sue Yale over fentanyl switch-up at fertility clinic." Washington Post. 17 Nov 2021.

"Seven women who say they suffered excruciating pain after a nurse stole fentanyl for her personal use and replaced it with saline sued Yale University on Wednesday, alleging it of failing to safeguard its supply of the painkilling opioid at a fertility clinic."

Saryn Chorney. "I Put My Unused Embryos from IVF Up for Adoption on Facebook — and It Turned Out Better Than I Imagined." People. 18 Nov 2021.

Recent opinion

Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett. "Women are still being blamed for society’s problems with fertility. Rather than offering women ‘fertility seminars’, we should talk about the real barriers to parenthood for many young people." The Guardian. 13 Oct 2021.

Recent long reads

Gary Shteyngart. "A Botched Circumcision and Its Aftermath. The constant discomfort of a genital injury creates a covenant of pain. It is impossible to think about anything else." New Yorker. 04 October 2021.

Sarah Zhang. "The Children of Sperm Donors Want to Change the Rules of Conception. Does everyone have a right to know their biological parents?" The Atlantic. 15 Oct 2021.

Sheelah Kolhatkar. "How an Adoption Broker Cashed In on Prospective Parents’ Dreams. In just a few years, a Michigan woman took in millions of dollars, faking adoptions and ruining families’ lives along the way." New Yorker. 18 Oct 2021.

Antonio Regalado. "How Silicon Valley hatched a plan to turn blood into human eggs." MIT Technology Review. 28 Oct 2021

Recent watch

Brandi Carlile. "Mother."