Is embryo research reshaping how we think about reproductive choice, or is it simply catching up with societal changes already underway? Journalist and IVF patient Anna Sussman, whose reporting appears in The New York Times, sits down with bioethicist Insoo Hyun and co-host Vardit Ravitsky, President of The Hastings Center, to explore how scientific innovation and personal experience intersect at the heart of IVF and embryo ethics. Their conversation dives into the complex realities behind leftover frozen embryos, posthumous reproduction, and evolving legal frameworks—especially in the wake of landmark court decisions like Dobbs.
They discuss how personal journeys through IVF can clash with broader cultural and political views on life’s beginnings, highlighting the emotional weight of deciding the fate of unused embryos. Sussman’s on-the-ground reporting reveals how patients, doctors, and researchers often grapple with ambiguous definitions of personhood, while juggling everyday questions like how long embryos can remain frozen, what storage costs mean for families, and the moral significance—or insignificance—of a few cells.
Chapters
00:02 – What do embryos mean in our society?
01:56 – What did you think about and find out when you were writing these stories?
03:45 – Where does the idea come from when you’re preparing a piece for the New York Times?
08:10 – What was the interplay of rationality and emotionality like for you, and what was it like for the people that you’ve explored this with?
09:51 – Did the experience of becoming a new parent change anything that you were planning to write, or the direction or the tone of what you were working on?
12:28 – What if it’s possible to implant embryos after 100 years? Can they be inherited by my children and carried by their genetic siblings?
17:14 – What surprised you and what did you learn from talking to researchers who work with embryos every day?
19:07 – What do embryos mean in our society, considering that science gives us so many options today for building our families, how do we think about them?
21:43 – Why is IVF an open question fifty years later?
23:26 – Was there anything that stood out or surprised you while researching this story or going through the process yourself?
25:51 – What are some of Vardit’s thoughts on polygenic embryo screening?
32:53 – Do donor genetics matter in one’s relationship with their child?
33:38 - How do we separate reproduction from sex and from relationships?
34:47 – How do you tease out what is coming from your own background from your own intellectual work?
37:00 – Is there an example of an ethical argument you’ve tried to make that didn’t pass your own rational thinking?
39:00 – Is there a definition of embryo that crosses all of these different areas in which they appear?
Insoo Hyun is an affiliate of the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School. He also serves as Director at the Center for Life Sciences and Public Learning at the Boston Museum of Science. Together with Vardit Ravitsky—President of The Hastings Center and a leading voice on bioethics—they guide Sussman through a riveting exploration of how individual IVF experiences can illuminate the larger conversation around reproductive rights, scientific responsibility, and the future of family in a rapidly changing world.
Anna Sussman is an independent journalist who has authored several pieces on embryo research, reproductive ethics, and legal controversies, most notably for The New York Times. In her work, she brings a sharp investigative lens to the intersection of personal stories and societal shifts, providing insight into the nuanced world of fertility science and the deeper questions it raises about family building.
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