Freezing fertility or freezing false hope? A content analysis of social egg freezing in U.S. print media

Campo‐Engelstein, Lisa; Aziz, Rohia; Darivemula, Shilpa; Raffaele, Jennifer; Bhatia, Rajani; Parker, Wendy M.

doi:10.1080/23294515.2018.1509153

Cited by 33 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In the studies on newspaper representations of non-invasive prenatal testing in the United States (39) and the United Kingdom (40), authors concluded that the bene ts of the technology are more often described than the harms, which could lead to unrealistic expectations of the test. In studies on media coverage of social egg freezing (41) and Angelina Jolie's preventive bilateral mastectomy and BRCA1/2 testing (42), a similar positive attitude to the technologies is found. Perhaps the focus on non-medical traits and possible lack of scienti c evidence with PGT-P could be a reason for this difference in attitudes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Polygenic Risk Scoring of Human Embryos: a Qualitative Study of Media Coverage

Pagnaer

Siermann

Borry

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background Current preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) technologies enable embryo genotyping across the whole genome. Consequently, this has led to the development of polygenic risk scoring of human embryos (PGT-P). Recent implementation of PGT-P, including screening for intelligence, has been extensively covered by the media, raising major controversy. Considering the increasing demand for assisted reproduction, we evaluated how information about PGT-P is communicated in press media and explored the diversity of ethical themes present in the public debate.Methods LexisNexis Academic database and Google News were searched to identify articles about polygenic embryo screening. This led to 535 news articles. 59 original articles met the inclusion criteria. Inductive content analysis was used to analyse these articles.Results 8.8% of articles gave embryo polygenic scoring a positive portrayal, while 36.8% expressed a negative attitude. 54.4% were neutral, mostly highlighting limited practical value of the technology in in vitro fertilization (IVF) settings. We identified five main ethical themes that are also present in academic literature and the broader debate on reproductive technologies: a slippery slope towards designer babies, well-being of the child and parents, impact on society, deliberate choice and societal readiness.Conclusions Implementation of embryo polygenic profiling engenders a need for specific recommendations. Current media analysis discloses important ethical themes to consider when creating future guidelines for PGT-P.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Polygenic Risk Scoring of Human Embryos: a Qualitative Study of Media Coverage

Pagnaer

Siermann

Borry

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Services are expensive and seldom covered by insurance, and the chances of a viable embryo from a frozen egg are low. Still, “social” egg freezing is increasingly marketed to well‐educated women without fertility problems as a way of stopping the biological clock (Barbey, ; Campo‐Engelstein et al, ). Some single women turn to egg freezing to separate pressures to have a child by a certain age from the search for a romantic partner (Brown & Patrick, ).…”

Section: Alternative Pathways To Parenthoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathways to Parenthood in Social and Family Contexts: Decade in Review, 2020

Guzzo

Hayford

2020

J of Marriage and Family

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Whether, and under what circumstances, people become parents has implications for individual identity, family relationships, the well‐being of adults and children, and population growth and age structure. Understanding the factors that influence pathways to parenthood is central to the study of families and can inform policies aimed at changing childbearing behaviors. This review summarizes recent trends in fertility as well as research on the predictors and correlates of childbearing, with a focus on the United States and on research most relevant to family scholars. U.S. fertility has declined in recent years, perhaps reflecting the influence of the Great Recession and increasing economic inequality, and there is growing divergence in behaviors across social class. Scholars of childbearing have developed theories to better understand how childbearing is shaped by life course processes and social contexts, but more work is needed to understand group differentials, refine measurement and theories, and better integrate men and couples. Childbearing research has important implications for social policy, but the application of research to policy is hindered by ideological factors.

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“…The authors concluded that articles tend to present OC as a solution to workplace injustices, rather than an unproven medical treatment. 10 Their study focused on magazine and newspaper articles rather than advertisements disseminated by egg freezing start-ups themselves.…”

Section: Overview Of Common Advertising Claimsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Legal and Ethical Analysis of Advertising for Elective Egg Freezing

Bayefsky¹

2020

J. Law. Med. Ethics

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This paper reviews common advertising claims by egg freezing companies and evaluates the medical evidence behind those claims. It then surveys legal standards for truth in advertising, including FTC and FDA regulations and the First Amendment right to free speech. Professional standards for medical advertising, such as guidelines published by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and the American Medical Association (AMA), are also summarized. A number of claims, many of which relate to the targeting of younger women for eOC, are found to breach legal and ethical standards for truth in advertising. The ethical implications of misleading advertising claims are also discussed, and the central narrative woven by OC ads — that egg freezing is empowering to women — is examined. The paper concludes that a more balanced approach to the risks and benefits of OC is necessary to truly respect women's autonomy. Moreover, justice requires us to look beyond a medical procedure accessible only to a minority of women in order to address inequities in the workplace.

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Freezing fertility or freezing false hope? A content analysis of social egg freezing in U.S. print media

Cited by 33 publications

References 31 publications

Polygenic Risk Scoring of Human Embryos: a Qualitative Study of Media Coverage

Polygenic Risk Scoring of Human Embryos: a Qualitative Study of Media Coverage

Pathways to Parenthood in Social and Family Contexts: Decade in Review, 2020

Legal and Ethical Analysis of Advertising for Elective Egg Freezing

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