So, did you read the article? You know the one I'm talking about. In O Magazine. I heard about it on a message board so I picked up a copy the other day, for some nice, soothing pre-lap reading. I found a nice quiet seat for myself on the subway (over a heating vent, which is important during this, the Coldest Winter of My Lifetime), and as I read, I fumed all the way home.
Oprah--what were you thinking? I mean, really--as a woman, how could you allow this article to be published? If you haven't had the pleasure of reading the article, the upshot is basically that fertility drugs are bad and they will kill you, but that's okay because you must be suicidal and self-absorbed for wanting to take them. It's full of all the old platitudes that all you really need to do is relax (and in this case, take a vacation in Italy) and you'll get pregnant. What codswallop!
No doctors from leading fertility clinics are quoted in the article. Worse still, as eveidence of fertility doctors run amok, author Barbara Seaman points to the cases of Richard Asch (who implanted fertilized eggs from Woman A into Woman B without the knowledge of either woman) and Cecil Jacobson (who used his own sperm to fertilize his patients' eggs). There's no question that these doctors are bad news, but their cases are from 1995 and 1992 respectively. How about we look for more recent events--maybe something from the 21st century?
So, there you have it. There's even more in the article that's appalling, but I won't get into it. If you've read it and you're offended, feel free to let Oprah know.
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