04/28/2023

Friends of Franz Podcast S2 E18: How Do You Want Your Eggs? with Dr. Serena H. Chen

In 1973, through the U.S. Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade, women were given the right of access and privacy to abortion without federal or state-wide regulation. However, on June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned this landmark ruling with the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case. Now, the right to abortion care and reproductive autonomy can be regulated at a state level. However, the resounding effect is not only fear for abortion rights but also reproductive care as a whole. "Personhood laws” that define life and humanity at conception and fertilization exist in certain states, creating an implication that interweaves more discussions regarding fertility and reproductive medicine, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), egg freezing, management of ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages, and criminalization of practitioners who facilitate such procedures.

We are joined today by Dr. Serena H. Chen, a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist and fellowship-trained reproductive endocrinologist. She stands as the Founding Partner and Medical Director of The Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science (IRMS) and the Vice President of Doctors for Fertility, a physician-led organization with the mission to educate and inform policy on reproductive rights. She is also an Associate Clinical Professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and St. George's University School of Medicine. As seen in Wired, New York Magazine, and U.S. News & World Report, Dr. Chen provides online education about fertility treatments and access to reproductive help.