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
Close up of plastic tube dropping liquid into clear plastic test tubes in a DNA lab at the University of Michigan.

Police are using DNA testing to track down a fetus’s mother

By Russell Brandom, The Verge | 05.10.2018

Monday afternoon, workers at a treatment plant in Augusta, Georgia found something unusual traveling through the city’s wastewater. A mass...

Biopolitics
A black buggy pulled by a horse on a road with green fields on either side

The Amish pool resources for their medical care. A budget-busting gene therapy puts them in a bind

By Eric Boodman, STAT | 05.08.2018

The meeting could determine whether the two young siblings would keep going blind. The doctor knew that going in, but he...

Biotech & Pharma
A hand wearing a green clinical glove holds purple test tubes containing DNA samples.

Medicine’s Wild West: 10 new genetic tests enter the market each day

By Carolyn Y. Johnson, The Washington Post | 05.07.2018

There are 75,000 genetic tests available for sale today -- a flood of information that could provide major new insights into...

Biotech & Pharma
Cartoon image of a bearded man in button down shirt with a surprised expression on his face. He is pointing over his shoulder at a colorful pie chart.

The Racial Spectacle of DNA Test Result Videos

By Amanda Hess, The New York Times | 05.06.2018

The Try Guys, a quartet of BuzzFeed personalities who film themselves undergoing often absurd and humiliating experiences on camera...

Arts & Culture
close up of a white delete key bordered by silver

How to delete your DNA data from genetics companies like 23andMe and Ancestry

By Erin Brodwin, Business Insider | 05.04.2018
Technologies
A cartoon figure holds a large magnifying glass up to a strand of DNA

You Can’t Hide Your Genes

By Natalie Ram, Slate | 05.04.2018

The arrest of Joseph James DeAngelo as the suspected Golden State Killer has both thrilled and worried watchers. Bringing the...

U.S. Federal
The U.S. Capitol building with a cloudy sky

Congress is a decade behind in overseeing DNA testing companies

By Stuart Leavenworth, The Sacramento Bee | 05.03.2018

Washington -- Wall Street has plowed billions of dollars into DNA testing companies, one of the world's fastest-growing consumer services...

Technologies
The Canadian flag (Red, White, and the another Red strip with a red maple leaf in the middle of the white section of flag) waving in the trees in front of a large body of water.

Argument of paying for surrogacy, sperm and eggs based on misinformation

By Alana Cattapan and Françoise Baylis, The Star | 05.01.2018

Prime Minister Trudeau has stated it is time for Canadians to have a discussion about payment for surrogacy, eggs, and...

Other Countries