The Baby Business and Public Policy

The recent media storm over the in vitro fertilization-induced birth of octuplets has receded into the tabloids and entertainment pages. A second fertility industry scandal that emerged several weeks later-the announcement by a Los Angeles fertility clinic that it would soon offer a program to select embryos not just for sex but also for hair, eye and skin color-has also veered out of the headlines. But the outcry surrounding these events has revealed mounting disquiet about the multi-billion dollar baby business.

The fertility industry's professional societies offer a potential avenue for self-regulation of the field, but their existing recommendations are too often ignored. Other countries regulate assisted reproduction to protect the well-being of all participants, including the children whom it helps create and the families and society into which they are born. Drawing lessons from their successes could help temper the commercial pressures in the U.S. assisted reproduction sector, without in any way diminishing reproductive rights.

The importance of addressing these issues is readily evident. The octuplets story left a mark even on the English language. Google now reports one...