The Moral Economy of Fertility Markets: Hope and Hype, History and Inclusion

Abstract

Tens of thousands of American women have frozen their eggs in hopes of buying more time to have a biological child. Fertility marketing comes too close to making explicit promises that are not supported by this medical technology. These commercial near-guarantees intrude on norms of informed consent and truthful advertising. But federal regulations fail to penalize offenders in a way that's meaningful or effective. This commentary responds to Michelle Bayefsky’s analysis call for transparency in the multi-billion-dollar market for reproductive services. It considers two issues that Bayefsky did not address: the history of assisted reproduction and who is left out of the egg freezing market.

Keywords: fertility, egg freezing, truthful advertising, assisted reproduction

JEL Classification: k36,I12