Human reproduction has long been a preoccupation of ethicists, scientists and science fiction, from the lab-reared children of Brave New World to the artificial uteri shown in The Matrix. And as the recent furor over Facebook and Apple’s proposal to offer to fund the freezing of their female employee’s eggs indicated, we’re far from settled about how emerging reproductive technologies will affect the way we live. At a time when the science of genotyping, uterus transplants, and the design of artificial sperm and eggs continues to evolve, it’s worth pausing to consider what is within the realm of the possible when it comes to human reproduction, and which questions we should be asking before we get there.

On the afternoon of Thursday, Nov. 20, Future Tense—a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University—will host an event on the potential ramifications of new reproductive technologies at the New America office in Washington, D.C. For more information and to RSVP, visit the New America website.

Agenda

12:15 p.m.: Lunch and Registration

12:30 p.m. - 12:45 p.m. Engineering the Post-Modern Family

Liza Mundy
Director, Breadwinning and Caregiving Program, New America

12:45 p.m. - 1:30 pm Where Babies Will Come From

Dieter Egli
Senior research fellow, New York Stem Cell Foundation

Rebecca Soko
President, American Society for Reproductive Medicine

Moderator
Darshak Sanghavi
Health care columnist, Slate
Associate professor of pediatrics, University of Massachusetts Medical School

1:30 p.m. - 1:50 p.m. Family Feud Circa 2100

Dan Kois
Co-host of “Mom and Dad Are Fighting,” Slate's parenting podcast

Allison Benedikt
Co-host of “Mom and Dad Are Fighting,” Slate's parenting podcast

1:50 p.m. - 2:35 p.m. Whose Business Is Reproduction?

Debora Spar
President, Barnard College
Author, The Baby Business: How Money, Science and Politics Drive the Commerce of Conception

Evan Snyder
FDA Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapy Advisory Committee
Director, Program in Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute

Camille Hammond
CEO, Tinina Q Cade Foundation

Moderator
Liza Mundy
Director, Breadwinning and Caregiving Program, New America

2:35 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. In the Gattaca-Family Way: How Far Is Too Far?

Charis Thompson
Chancellor's professor and chair, gender women's studies, University of California, Berkley

Marcy Darnovsky
Executive director, Center for Genetics and Society

Jane Maienschein
Director, Center for Biology and Society, Arizona State University

Moderator
Christine Rosen
Senior editor, the New Atlantis