News

Surrogacy goes more mainstream

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

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

Eugenics and the Modern Synthesis, Part I

By Jessica Riskin, Los Ángeles Review of Books | 03.23.2026

This is the first part of the 14th 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. The series is organized by...

Civil Society

Surrogacy laws are all over the map

By Carly Mallenbaum, Axios [cites Surrogacy360] | 03.29.2026

Without a federal law, surrogacy in the U.S. is governed by a patchwork of state regulations/

Why it matters: Confusing...

Policies

Project Eugenics: The Rollback of Disability Rights

By Kiana Jackson and Shannon Stubblefield, New Disabled South | 02.09.2026

^{"MC0_8230" via Wikimedia Commons licensed under CC by 2.0}

This report documents a deliberate assault on disabled people in...

U.S. States

How to protect the first ‘CRISPR babies’ prompts ethical debate

By Smriti Mallapaty, Nature | 02.25.2022

^{Photo of He Jiankui licensed for reuse under CC BY 3.0}

Two prominent bioethicists in China are calling on the...

Other Countries

globe held by pair of hands representing countries of the world

Genomics’ Ethical Gray Areas Are Harming the Developing World

By Dyna Rochmyaningsih, Undark Magazine | 02.24.2022

Since the first human genome was sequenced in the early 2000s, scientists have touted the breakthrough as a blessing to humanity...

Other Countries

The ‘Nation’s Psychiatrist’ Takes Stock, With Frustration

By Ellen Barry, The New York Times | 02.22.2022

^{Official photo of Thomas Insel from the NIMH Office of the Director}

A new book by Dr. Thomas P. Insel...

Genomics

Gene-Edited Brain Organoids Are Unlocking the Secrets of Autism

By Amit Katwala, Wired | 02.21.2022

Hundreds of genes have been linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a complicated range of conditions affecting the behavior, social...

Genomics

Ukraine: Ireland ‘speeds up’ exit for surrogate babies

By BBC, BBC | 02.21.2022

The Irish government has expedited plans for families with newborn surrogate babies to travel immediately from Ukraine.

It comes as...

Other Countries

President Biden's Cabinet members sitting in chairs and wearing masks

Biden doesn’t get it

By H. Holden Thorp, Science | 02.18.2022

It has been a rough 2 weeks for the US science community. After 4 years of bludgeoning by the Trump...

Media Coverage

Black women, long ignored in infertility discussions, speak out

By Shelia Poole, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | 02.18.2022

^{Photo licensed for reuse under CC-BY SA 3.0}

Penelope Marshall McCown struggled for years to have a baby.

She and...

Perspectives

The Moral Danger of Declaring the Pandemic Over Too Soon

By Gregg Gonsalves, The New York Times | 02.17.2022

The early 1990s were in many ways the most terrible of those first years of the AIDS epidemic in America...

Perspectives