The Business of Egg Transactions and Need for Improved Regulation of the Fertility Industry in Canada
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29173/alr2798Abstract
In Canada, ethical and legal debates around egg donation have largely focused on the question of whether egg providers should be paid, since payment for egg donation is prohibited through the federal Assisted Human Reproduction Act, 2004. One of the generally overlooked issues, however, is the potential for fertility clinics and agencies to mistreat egg providers. There is little legal oversight of the practices of fertility clinics and agencies in Canada, and scholars have raised concerns about the potential for mistreatment of egg providers. This article examines the medical care of egg providers in Canada by presenting data from qualitative interviews with 14 egg providers. While some egg providers felt well cared for, others were left feeling like a means to an end — they felt that insufficient information was provided for consent, there was an inability to communicate with the clinic, and they were physically mistreated. I argue that not only do egg providers’ experiences run contrary to the CMA Code of Ethics, but they also run contrary to laws, regulations, and guidelines that are intended to ensure that people who undergo fertility treatments are not harmed.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
For Editions following and including Volume 61 No. 1, the following applies.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
For Editions prior to Volume 61 No. 1, the following applies.
Author(s) retain original copyright in the substantive content of the titled work, subject to the following rights that are granted indefinitely:
- Author(s) grant the Alberta Law Review permission to produce, publish, disseminate, and distribute the titled work in electronic format to online database services, including, but not limited to: LexisNexis, QuickLaw, HeinOnline, and EBSCO;
- Author(s) grant the Alberta Law Review permission to post the titled work on the Alberta Law Review website and/or related websites.
- Author(s) agree that the titled work may be used for educational or instructional purposes and/or in educational or instructional materials. The author(s) acknowledge that the titled work is subject to other such "fair dealing" provisions and applicable legislation.
- Author(s) grant a limited license to those accessing the titled work from an electronic database or an Alberta Law Review website to download the titled work onto their computer and to print a copy for their own personal, non-commercial use, subject to proper attribution.
To use the journal's content elsewhere, permission must be obtained from the author(s) and the Alberta Law Review.
