Ideas worth spreading

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

1,750,035 views | Ellen Trachman • TEDxMileHigh

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.

Ellen Trachman | Above The Law, 2021 | Article

"Posthumous Conception: It Happens More Often Than You Think"

The death of an Olympian and the posthumous conception and birth of his child brings to light the increasing use of posthumous conception and its legal complications.

I Want to Put a Baby in You podcast | 2021 | Listen

Podcast: "Post-Mortem Sperm Retrieval -- Casey DiPaola and Joe Williams"

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

Lucie Jourdan | Netflix, 2022 | Watch

Our Father

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

Dov Fox | Oxford University Press, 2019 | Book

Birth Rights and Wrongs: How Medicine and Technology are Remaking Reproduction and the Law

Law Professor Dov Fox explores the legal systems failings in the reproductive context and how it can do better.

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.

About TEDx

TEDx was created in the spirit of TED's mission, "ideas worth spreading." It supports independent organizers who want to create a TED-like event in their own community.

Find a TEDx event near you

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.