Ideas worth spreading

What happens to people's donated eggs and sperm after they die?

1,769,636 views |

Ellen Trachman |

TEDxMileHigh

• October 2021

Today, there are many ways to conceive a child, thanks to assisted reproductive technologies like IVF and egg-freezing. But the law lags behind these advancements, says attorney Ellen Trachman, troubling parents-to-be with stranger-than-fiction mix-ups and baffling lawsuits. Trachman makes the case for legality to reflect the realities of reproductive innovation -- and prompts you to reconsider what could happen to your own genetic material.

Today, there are many ways to conceive a child, thanks to assisted reproductive technologies like IVF and egg-freezing. But the law lags behind these advancements, says attorney Ellen Trachman, troubling parents-to-be with stranger-than-fiction mix-ups and baffling lawsuits. Trachman makes the case for legality to reflect the realities of reproductive innovation -- and prompts you to reconsider what could happen to your own genetic material.

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxMileHigh, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

Complete this form indicating your wishes for your own reproductive material.

Get involved! Follow RESOLVE's legislative updates and have your voice heard by lawmakers.

About the speaker

Ellen Trachman

Assisted reproductive technology attorney

See speaker profile

Ellen Trachman brings dedicated and compassionate legal representation to those wishing to build a family through assisted reproductive technology, as well as those helping them.

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Podcast interview with New York attorneys who achieved a groundbreaking victory in a postmortem retrieval legal case.

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It deals with a different horrifying legal issue with assisted reproductive technology and the failure of the law to keep up.

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Peter J. Boni | Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2022 | Book

Uprooted: Family Trauma, Unknown Origins, and the Secretive History of Artificial Insemination

A donor-conceived person's exploration of their own genetic history and the history of donor conception.

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This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxMileHigh, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

Complete this form indicating your wishes for your own reproductive material.

Get involved! Follow RESOLVE's legislative updates and have your voice heard by lawmakers.