THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 1999

Physicians question ethics of infertility options

By Sharon Christensen

On-Line Forty-Niner

More and more women are waiting longer before trying to conceive, making human egg donation an increasingly widespread practice.

A panel discussion, sponsored by the Women's Resource Center and the Odyssey Project and held at University Library Tuesday, addressed the ethical issues of egg donation, a practice which began in the early 1980s.

"Is this a field which needs regulation or should we continue with our free market approach?" asked Alex Capron, an attorney and medical ethicist.

Donation was first designed for prematurely menopausal women or women who had congenital reproductive defects, but now is becoming an option for women in their 40s, nearing menopause or for those whose eggs are poor quality.

Dr. Denise Cassidenty, whose Reproductive Partners Medical Group, Inc., pays donors $3,000 an egg, further questioned the inherent health risks associated with impregnating older women, and the possible coercion aspect of an ever increasing financial reward.

"These are all issues which we are capable of debating, and about which the law has little to say," Capron said.