Ruth Retassie

Featured in: Favicon

progress.org.uk

Articles

TV Review: The Philippines – Wombs for hire | PET

2 months ago | progress.org.uk | Joanne Delange |Ruth Retassie

As someone with bioethics training, I am familiar with discussing complex topics, such as underground surrogacy in the Phillipines. The recently published Aljazeera TV show, 'The Philippines: Wombs for Hire' by Natashya Gutierrez and Aun Qi Koh, did a great job detailing the issue, while also providing empathy and a platform for those most vulnerable – the surrogates.
Filipino surrogates convicted by Cambodian court

Dec 9, 2024 | progress.org.uk | lynne smit |Ruth Retassie

Thirteen Filipino surrogates have been convicted of human trafficking in Cambodia. The women were convicted of human trafficking for intending to sell the babies they are carrying. Surrogacy is illegal in Cambodia, and the women were sentenced to four years in prison, with two years suspended. The Kandal Provincial Court said there was strong evidence that the pregnant women intended 'to sell to a third person in exchange for money, which is an act of human trafficking,' the BBC reported.
Class action lawsuits against genetic testing companies over PGT-A

Oct 21, 2024 | progress.org.uk | Hannah Flynn |Ruth Retassie

Former IVF patients in the USA have filed class action lawsuits against several companies for misleading them about the efficacy of PGT-A. Class action lawsuits have been filed against CooperGenomics, CooperSurgical, The Cooper Companies, Reproductive Genetic Innovations, Progenesis, and Natera by former patients to recuperate funds spent on preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A).
Queensland passes first fertility treatment legislation

Sep 16, 2024 | progress.org.uk | Hannah Flynn |Ruth Retassie

The Queensland parliament has passed the state's first assisted conception laws, which include plans to create a retrospective donor-registry by 2026. The number of families that can be created by the same donor will be capped at ten as part of the new legislation, bringing Queensland in line with other Australian states.
Book Review: Inconceivable – Super sperm donors, off-the-grid insemination and unconventional family planning | PET

Jul 15, 2024 | progress.org.uk | Hannah Flynn |Ruth Retassie

Inconceivable: Super Sperm Donors, Off-the-Grid Insemination and Unconventional Family PlanningBy Valerie BaumanPublished by Union Square and CoISBN-10: 1454957239, ISBN-13: 978-1454957232Buy this book from Amazon UKValerie Bauman, an investigative reporter at Newsweek, has authored a new book, 'Inconceivable: Super Sperm Donors, Off-The-Grid Insemination, and Unconventional Family Planning', which details her journey of becoming a single mother by choice.
Error in incubator cleaning process destroys embryos

Apr 22, 2024 | progress.org.uk | Hannah Flynn |Ruth Retassie

A lab worker accidentally destroyed embryos at a fertility clinic in California, leading patients to sue. The employee at Ovation Fertility in Newport Beach cleaned an incubator with hydrogen peroxide instead of a sterile solution. This error was discovered when the clinic investigated why their January rates of successful implantation were unusually low.
Alabama politicians draft legislation to save IVF following embryo ruling

Mar 4, 2024 | progress.org.uk | Hannah Flynn |Ruth Retassie

Alabama legislators have agreed new laws to protect IVF after the state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are considered unborn children under the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act (see BioNews 1228). Republican state Senator Dr Tim Melson, a retired medical doctor, introduced a bill to protect IVF providers from criminal or civil charges for providing treatment.
Event Review: Gene Editing – A new legal frontier • PET

Sep 4, 2023 | progress.org.uk | Jen Willows |Ruth Retassie

Professor Imogen Goold presented a lecture at Gresham College, London, entitled 'Gene Editing: A New Legal Frontier', where she talked about ethical considerations for human genome editing. As a viewer with a background in bioethics, I have some familiarity with genome editing and the ethical discussions around it. I was interested to see if I would learn anything new about this topic from Professor Goold, who is a professor of medical law.
Couple who lost embryos sue IVF oil manufacturer

Feb 27, 2023 | progress.org.uk | Hannah Flynn |Ruth Retassie

A California couple is suing the manufacturer of an oil used during IVF, claiming a faulty batch of oil destroyed their embryos. Fujifilm Irvine Scientific's oil is used to prevent evaporation during the process of culturing and storing embryos. Several batches of the oil were recalled after complaints were received, but the couple was subsequently notified that their nine embryos had been destroyed. As a result, they may no longer be able to have genetically-related children.