...To that mix, here's one that's equally controversial: Is it time for federal and state governments to consider legal rules and boundaries for the fertility industry? A new research-based report by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, "Old Lessons for a New World," suggests that the answer may finally be "yes."

The report points out that adoption and assisted reproductive technology have much in common as "nontraditional" means of forming families, and that adoption's far-longer history of research, experience and evidence-informed policies therefore could help to improve practices in the world of assisted reproduction.

The report's recommendations include such applicable adoption issues as the problematic effects of secrecy, the need for a child-centered focus and the impact of market forces. Most pointedly, the Donaldson Institute suggests that the legal and regulatory framework for adoption provides a model that assisted reproductive technology could utilize. Thoughtful guidelines on a broad range of activities in assisted reproductive technology - how many embryos should be implanted, how much egg donors should be paid, etc. - already have been promulgated, and there is every reason to believe most clinics try to adhere to these identified "best practices." ...

The organizations working to promote good practices deserve credit for their efforts and their successes. But their guidelines are not mandatory, and as the evidence before our eyes clearly shows, not everyone in any industry - including adoption - follows voluntary standards.

Labels: adoption, donor conception, fertility treatment

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