June 10, 2026
Reproductive Ethics
June 9, 2026
Smartphones broke dating. AI might finish the job.
(Vox) – Humanity may be scrolling its way out of existence. Across the globe, fertility rates are plummeting. In 2023, the average number of births per woman worldwide fell beneath 2.1 — the minimum level necessary for averting population decline … Read More
June 9, 2026
Scientists Edit Human Embryo Genes With Startling Precision
(NYT) – Researchers relied on a newer gene-editing technique that may make it possible to engineer embryos, a prospect that has long alarmed bioethicists. Scientists at Columbia University have edited the DNA of early human embryos with unprecedented accuracy, an … Read More
June 5, 2026
Jeffrey Epstein Banked His Sperm Years Before His Death
(NYT) – Mr. Epstein said that if he died, his sperm should be left in the control of his estate. Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019, but his genetic material may live on. Emails and records in the Epstein files released … Read More
June 3, 2026
The Global Fertility Crisis Is Worse Than You Probably Think
(Derek Thompson Substack) – I always like to begin my analysis of the subject here: Any complete and responsible explanation of this phenomenon cannot begin in the 21st century and should never pretend that this is some tragedy brought about … Read More
June 2, 2026
I’m an IVF Doctor. The Annual Ob-Gyn Visit Needs a Redesign.
(The Free Press) – The 33-year-old patient who comes to me in tears is the one the gynecologist never properly educated because the insurance codes wouldn’t pay for it. The annual visit for healthy women in their 20s and 30s … Read More
June 2, 2026
‘There is no way to stop this’: ‘Biotech Barbie’ Cathy Tie on her mission to genetically modify babies
(The Guardian) – The Canadian entrepreneur has always pushed the boundaries of gene editing, once attempting to turn horses into unicorns. Now she is set on modifying human embryos – something her controversial ex-husband was jailed for doing Tie and … Read More
June 1, 2026
Embryos made without sperm or eggs reveal why many pregnancies fail
(New Scientist) – Embryo organoids made from stem cells are enabling scientists to recreate early pregnancy in the lab, unlocking treatments for infertility, miscarriage and pre-eclampsia The very first days of pregnancy have long been an enigma. Scientists are unable … Read More
May 29, 2026
Nine Months of Medical Attention. Then Almost Nothing.
(NYT) – I am a physician who runs her state’s health agency. I had good insurance, paid leave and a fluency with institutions most new mothers should never need. What I did not have was a single provider who could … Read More
May 28, 2026
China Launched Artificial Embryos to Orbit to Find Out If We Can Have Space Babies
(Gizmodo) – Human reproduction beyond Earth is no longer reserved for science fiction. China launched embryo-like structures made from living human stem cells to its Tiangong space station for a first-of-its-kind experiment. The artificial embryos flew on board the Tianzhou-10 … Read More
May 26, 2026
Abortion pills “just in case”? Planned Parenthood will offer them in two states
(NPR) – When abortion restrictions are in the news, as they have been for several weeks, research shows that many Americans take that as a signal to stock up on abortion medications even if they’re not pregnant. Now, for the … Read More
May 21, 2026
Religious Anti-Abortion Center Finds Opportunity in Town Without OB-GYNs
(KFF Health News) – Such centers are known as crisis pregnancy centers or pregnancy resource centers. They offer limited resources and medical services to pregnant women and aim to dissuade them from having abortions. Healthcare groups including the American College … Read More
May 15, 2026
The Supreme Court keeps abortion pill mifepristone available by telehealth
(NPR) – The Supreme Court decided to keep the status quo in place for medication abortion access Thursday. The high court’s order means the abortion pill mifepristone will remain available via telehealth as a case brought by Louisiana against the … Read More
May 12, 2026
A crisis of conscience spurred this Christian IVF doctor’s career pivot
(AP) – “It’s too morally problematic,” Gordon thought. “I don’t know where you draw the line.” In 2018, his wife pushed him to change how he practiced. They both believed in the sanctity of embryos as part of their Christian … Read More
May 11, 2026
Contagious yawning begins in the WOMB, experts reveal — as foetuses are seen copying their mothers’ mouth movements
(Daily Mail) – There’s nothing quite as contagious as a yawn – and it turns out even babies in the womb aren’t immune. Experts have discovered foetuses ‘catch’ yawns from their mothers and have been seen slowly opening and closing … Read More
May 8, 2026
Here’s how technology transformed babymaking
(MIT Technology Review) – Tech advances not only made IVF safer and more effective; they fundamentally changed the way we think about our reproduction. In recent years, we’ve had reports of babies born with DNA from three people, babies born … Read More
May 8, 2026
Why So Few Babies? We Might Have Overlooked the Biggest Reason of All.
(NYT) – This is not simply a matter of affordability, the buzzword so often invoked to explain why people are choosing to have smaller families. Government support for parents can help, but overall, people are having fewer children both in … Read More
May 7, 2026
The Antiabortion Movement Is Turning on Trump
(WSJ) – The ubiquity of abortion pills during the second Trump administration has frustrated antiabortion advocates The antiabortion lobby expected to be more triumphant by now: A conservative Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Republicans control both chambers of Congress, … Read More
May 7, 2026
What’s next for IVF
(MIT Technology Review) – Automation, AI, and screening technologies are already transforming reproductive medicine. Reproduction is complex, and there’s a lot that embryologists and gynecologists still don’t know and can’t control. They don’t know why many healthy-looking embryos don’t “stick” … Read More
May 6, 2026
Mifepristone as a Tool of Coercion
(WSJ) – The Fifth Circuit’s order has a sound basis. Mifepristone—not to be confused with the Plan B morning-after pill, which is available over the counter—poses clinical risks and is a potential tool of coercion and abuse. Its distribution without … Read More
May 5, 2026
Supreme Court Temporarily Restores Access to Abortion Pill by Mail
(NYT) – A lower-court ruling had reinstated a Food and Drug Administration requirement that patients visit a health care provider in person to obtain mifepristone. The Supreme Court on Monday restored nationwide access to a widely used abortion medication in … Read More
May 1, 2026
The ‘Wonder Drug’ Hiding in Plain Sight
(Women’s Health) – Women with [hyperemesis gravidarum] are often treated with the same drugs used for morning sickness, like Zofran, Diclegis, and Compazine, but for many, these drugs don’t put a meaningful dent in their symptoms. (I tried every medication … Read More
April 23, 2026
A Startup Says It Grew Human Sperm in a Lab—and Used It to Make Embryos
(Wired) – Paterna Biosciences says it has determined the set of instructions needed to turn sperm-making stem cells into “normal, mature” sperm. A startup out of Utah, Paterna Biosciences, says it has successfully grown functional human sperm in a lab … Read More
April 22, 2026
Pennsylvania court strikes down Medicaid abortion funding ban
(Newsweek via MSN) – A Pennsylvania appellate court ruled Monday that the state constitution guarantees a right to abortion, striking down a decades-long ban on state Medicaid funding for abortion services in a decision that could reshape reproductive access for … Read More
April 20, 2026
Pregnancy vaccine reduces baby hospital admissions for RSV by 80%
(BBC) – A vaccine during pregnancy which protects newborns against nasty chest infections is cutting hospital admissions of babies by more than 80%, UK health officials say. A virus, called RSV, affects many babies in the first few months of … Read More
