Tag: reproductive laws

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How Did Science, Medicine, and the Environment Do in the Elections?

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Overall, it was a pretty good night for science. Voters may have had other issues in mind, but when they re-elected President Obama, they endorsed one of the most scientifically accomplished administrations in U.S. history. Obama has been a great supporter of science education and research; he has appointed science-friendly people to science posts (whichshouldn’t be a big accomplishment but is); and although it wasn’t the first act of his presidency (there’s no shame in losing out to Lily Ledbetter), he did give a great shout-out to science just a few weeks after taking office:

Science and the scientific process must inform and guide decisions of my Administration on a wide range of issues, including improvement of public health, protection of the environment, increased efficiency in the use of energy and other resources, mitigation of the threat of climate change, and protection of national security.

A win for Obama was a win for science, the environment, and health care. Read full article.

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Family Act Offers Relief for Families Facing Infertility

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HOUSTON – One in eight American couples struggles with fertility.

Now, proposed federal legislation would provide a tax credit to those who choose in vitro fertilization as a way to build a family.

After trying several fertility procedures covered by her insurance, former school teacher Leigh Cook decided to try in vitro fertilization (IVF), which was more expensive. Cook said, “Within just months, I was able to have a family. So now I have 4-1/2-year-old twins because of the right treatment.” Cook said she would’ve chosen in vitro right away, had it not been for the high cost — about $12,000 each treatment.

Dr. Jason Griffith with Houston Fertility Institute has joined other reproductive specialists on Capitol Hill supporting the Family Act tax credit for those who choose IVF. Read full article.

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US Supreme Court Rejects Oklahoma Personhood Appeal

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OKLAHOMA CITY — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to take up an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that said a proposal to grant “personhood” to human embryos would be an improper ban on abortion.

The proposed constitutional amendment, which was never considered by voters, would have given human embryos the rights and privileges of citizens in Oklahoma and was called “clearly unconstitutional” by the state Supreme Court in an April ruling.

The measure was challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of several Oklahoma doctors and residents before it could be placed on the ballot.

“Today’s rejection by the highest court in the nation is yet another resounding message to the opponents of reproductive freedom that such extremist assaults on our fundamental rights will not stand,” Nancy Northrup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights said Monday. Read full article.

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Court’s Split Decision Provides Little Clarity on Surrogacy

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Unable to conceive, the New Jersey couple did what an increasing number of 21st-century parents have done: they got an egg from an anonymous donor, and made an agreement with another woman to carry the child for them.

And knowing that there are any number of ways that having a child by surrogate can end in heartache, they tried to protect against it. They had the surrogate legally renounce her right to the child, and had a judge pre-emptively order that their names appear on the birth certificate. Read full article.

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Contraceptive Economics

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Americans passionately disagree about both the biology and the morality of contraception. Even many who skillfully practice what Thomas Robert Malthus termed the “improper arts” consider it a personal and, ideally, completely private choice.

But private choices are constrained by public policies. Both behavioral economics and recent empirical research help explain why access to long-acting, reliable, safe and reversible methods of contraception should be considered a public health priority. Read full article.

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Utah Court: No Benefits for Sperm Donor’s Offspring

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah Supreme Court ruled Friday that a Utah boy who was conceived with the frozen sperm of his dead father does not qualify for Social Security survivor’s benefits.

Gayle Burns had been trying to get survivor’s benefits for a son who was conceived with her husband’s sperm two years after the husband died of infection caused by a stem-cell transplant.

Michael Burns had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, or cancer of lymphoid tissue. He signed a contract to leave the preserved, frozen sperm to his wife if he died.

Gayle Burns has said her husband didn’t expect to die, because he had been cancer free, or to have to make legal arrangements to preserve Social Security benefits for his future son. Michael Burns died in 2001. Read full article.

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Fed. Contraception Mandate Suit Dismissed in MO

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ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal judge in St. Louis has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the contraception mandate of the federal health care law, one of nearly three dozen similar lawsuits filed across the country.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of Frank O’Brien and his company, O’Brien Industrial Holdings LLC of St. Louis, challenges the constitutionality of regulations in the health care law. Among other things, O’Brien, a devout Catholic, claimed the requirement that workplace health plans cover birth control infringes on his religious beliefs. Read full article.

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ASRM Files Amicus Brief Supporting Teacher Fired for Having Infertility Treatment

ASRM News and Research

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine announced today that it has filed an amicus curia (friend of the court) brief in the case of Herx v. Diocese Fort Wayne -South Bend.   Ms. Emily Herx of Fort Wayne, Indiana is suing the diocese for firing her from her job as a high school literature and language arts teacher after it became known that she suffered from infertility and had used in vitro fertilization in an attempt to overcome her disease and build a family.

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Couples Who Smoke Banned from IVF by NHS Fife – Scotland

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NHS Fife has been criticised for refusing IVF treatment to couples who smoke.

The health board said it would no longer provide treatment to couples if either of them smoked, or if doctors considered the woman to be overweight.

The charity Infertility Network said the health board had acted too quickly before new national guidelines on IVF were published at the end of the year.

The new rules come in to effect on 1 October 2012. Read full article.

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Lesbian Couple, Surrogate Mother and Sperm Donor in Three-Year Legal Battle Over Right to be Child’s Parents

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A lesbian couple have won custody of a child following a court battle with the youngster’s surrogate mother and sperm donor over who could be its legal parents.

The gay women were awarded sole custody rights of the youngster after a three-year legal wrangle ended in the High Court, it emerged today.

However, the judge’s decision has left the wife of the donor traumatised and upset at the ‘selfish’ determination of the lesbian couple to have a baby. Read full article.