Psychologist Andrea Braverman to speak at U of M on the how the Internet is reshaping assisted reproduction
Contacts: Monica Wittstock, Consortium on Law and Values, (612) 625-3482, witt0265@umn.edu
Ryan Mathre, University News Service, (612) 625-0552, mathre@umn.edu
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (11/12/2009) —Renowned psychologist and professor Andrea Braverman will speak on “How the Internet is reshaping assisted reproduction" 11:30 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 18 at the University of Minnesota’s Coffman Union, 300 Washington Ave. S.E., Minneapolis. Braverman’s lecture is the second in the 2009-10 Lecture Series on Law, Health & the Life Sciences on “How the Internet and Computers Are Changing Biomedical Practices and Policy” and is sponsored by the U's Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment and the Life Sciences.
Braverman’s lecture will focus on how — in the traditional medical model — assisted reproductive technologies featured the doctor acting in the role of the primary decision-maker choosing what was in the best interests of the patient. In the past, patients were passive participants in the building of their families — in fact, it was frequently the doctor or nurse who selected the sperm donor for an infertile couple. In the past few decades, however, options for family building have grown. Intended parents have evolved from passive patients to informed consumers. Braverman will argue that the biggest change is only now coming into view, as offspring themselves become active, seeking information about their conception, looking for information about their gamete donor, and trying to find other offspring who share the same donor. Braverman’s lecture will analyze these changes, explore future implications for policy and practice and discuss the importance for the practitioner, intended parents and people conceived through the donor process.
A clinical assistant professor in the department of Obstectrics & Gynecology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Braverman is a licensed psychologist in the state of Pennsylvania, and director of the Psychological and Complementary Services at Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey. She has written extensively on assisted reproduction and the psychological effects of infertility, and leads a complementary care program addressing the needs of patients who may be experiencing infertility.
The lecture is free and open to the public. It is co-sponsored by the University’s Consortium on Law, Health & the Life Sciences and Joint Degree Program in Law, Health & the Life Sciences.