Program in Dutch! In collaboration with NRC, we are organizing a program exploring the moral compass of gynecologists who used their own sperm to conceive babies. What does their decision say about how important we consider the desire to have children? How did we view the role of DNA in the 1980s? What does that say about our current healthcare system, and what role does genetic heritage play in fertility care today?
In the new five-part podcast series Cuckoo's child Through a personal investigation, NRC journalists Kim Bos and Cas Reijnders demonstrate that gynecologists who engaged in fraud by using their own sperm—or sperm other than what was promised—are not isolated incidents, but that these events collectively reveal a systemic failure. During this evening, excerpts from the new podcast will be heard for the first time: Cuckoo's child.
Have we learned from the mistakes of the past? And do new insights into the practices of healthcare professionals also lead to corresponding consequences, such as stopping the anonymous importation of sperm from Denmark?
In addition to Cas Reijnders (podcast host and victim of fertility fraud) and Kim Bos (NRC journalist covering medical-ethical issues), we will be speaking with Simone Reijnders (Cas’s sister), Ester de Lau (who helps donor-conceived children search for their donors), Britta van Beers (professor of law and healthcare at VU University Amsterdam, specializing in medical ethics and technology), and Adriejan van Veen (the first historian to study donor fraud) about these issues. Moderator: Gabriëlla Adèr.
