The Center for Genetics and Society brings social justice and human rights to the center of public and policy discussions about human genetics and assisted reproduction.

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The Global Economy of Human Eggs: An interview with Diane Tober

By Gabriele Pichlhofer and Tino Plümecke, Guest Contributors | 03.25.2026
Biopolitical Times

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...

Other Countries

Surrogacy goes more mainstream

By Carly Mallenbaum, Axios [cites Emily Galpern] | 03.29.2026

Aggregated News

More Americans are turning to surrogacy to build their families, as the practice becomes more common and more publicly discussed.

Why it matters: As surrogacy becomes more visible and accessible, ethical, legal and cultural tensions become harder to ignore...

U.S. Federal

Public Health, Vaccines and Modern Eugenics

By Pete Shanks | 02.27.2026
Biopolitical Times

Last month, we published “The Shameful Legacy of Tuskegee” which focused on a proposed experiment in Guinea-Bissau. The...

Bioethics

Eugenics and the Modern Synthesis, Part II

By Jessica Riskin, Los Ángeles Review of Books | 03.24.2026

Aggregated News

 

This is the second part of the 14th installment in the Legacies of Eugenics series, which features essays by...

Bioethics

Biopolitical Times

Faster, Higher, Stronger? The Enhanced Games Fall Flat

By Pete Shanks | 06.04.2026

Faster, Higher, Stronger

That was the Olympic motto from 1874 until 2001, when “ – Together” was added, to...

Human Genetic Modification

‘I didn’t come here to get rich’: new research on the lives of Ukrainian women in Georgia’s surrogacy boom

By Olga Oleinikova, Medea Badashvili, and Polina Vlasenko | 04.23.2026

“I didn’t come here to get rich. I came because I had no other way to keep my son safe...

Other Countries

Serial Entrepreneur and “Frankenstein’s” Ex Launches (Another) New Germline Editing Startup

By Pete Shanks | 03.26.2026

Cathy Tie seems to be good at starting businesses but not so dedicated to maintaining them. CGS, like many others...

Policies

News

In a First, Scientists Precisely Edit Human Embryo Genes

By Carl Zimmer, The New York Times | 06.04.2026

Scientists at Columbia University have edited the DNA of early human embryos with unprecedented accuracy, an achievement that could open the way to babies engineered with particular characteristics.

The prospect has fueled controversy for years. On the one hand, the...

Human Genetic Modification

Changes to Victorian law to provide 'tougher scrutiny' after Monash IVF bungles

By Staff, ABC News | 06.01.2026

The Victorian government is introducing legislation it says will make IVF clinics safer and more accountable following high-profile bungles by private providers.

As part of the changes, the state's health minister will have the power to personally intervene to cancel...

Policies

The Measured Listener

By Daniel Shanahan, Los Angeles Review of Books | 05.31.2026

This is the 15th installment in the Legacies of Eugenics series, which features essays by leading thinkers devoted to exploring the history of eugenics and the ways it shapes our present. You can read the first part here. The series...

U.S. States

‘There is no way to stop this’: ‘Biotech Barbie’ Cathy Tie on her mission to genetically modify babies

By Jenny Kleeman, The Guardian | 05.30.2026

On a Friday evening in late April, Cathy Tie, the Canadian serial entrepreneur and self-styled “Biotech Barbie”, is centre stage at New York City’s famous Carnegie Hall, performing Saint-Saens’ Piano Concerto No 2 on a gleaming Steinway grand piano, accompanied...

U.S. Federal

Video
Reproduction and Family Formation: The State and the Market
Use Gene Editing to Make Better Babies | Debate | Intelligence Squared U.S.
The 'Perfect' Baby?: The Dangers of Gene Editing in Assisted Reproduction