Debating the Science and Ethics of IVF: Emma Waters vs. Ruxandra Teslo

Reason Podcasts

How should the government treat in vitro fertilization (IVF)? Should they regulate it more? Should they subsidize it? Just asking questions. The above are all questions that the Trump administration is actively considering in the wake of an executive order seeking to expand access to IVF. President Donald Trump previously declared himself "the fertilization president" while speaking at a women's conference. Today's guests have thought about a lot about reproductive technology, birth rates, and family policy, each arriving at some very different conclusions at times. Ruxandra Teslo is a genomics Ph.D. student at the University of Cambridge and writes often about fertility and technology at Ruxandra's Substack. Emma Waters is a reproductive technology and bioethics policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation. In this discussion, they debate the ethics of in vitro fertilization, discuss recent scientific advancements such as the ability to create eggs from other types of cells and three-parent embryos, and the emerging market in "embryo selection" that allows parents to choose between embryos with different genetic traits. Subscribe YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@reasonJustAskingQuestions/featured Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-asking-questions/id1719355507 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5SpySKAH3LuVyxXk0MF7tl Text and links to sources available here: https://reason.com/podcast/2025/06/06/debating-the-science-and-ethics-of-ivf-emma-waters-vs-ruxandra-teslo/