On June 20th, the Petrie-Flom Center welcomed Susannah Baruch on board as its new Executive Director.
Susannah comes to the Petrie-Flom Center with expertise in reproductive health law policy, genetics, and genomics, and a wealth of experience in nonprofits, academia, and government. We asked Susannah to share a bit about herself and her past work by way of introduction to Bill of Health’s readers.
The following interview has been edited and condensed.
A recent web series sparked controversy with the headline that “Designer babies aren’t futuristic. They’re already here.” The online articles make the case that disparate access to frozen embryo screening for debilitating diseases—sickle cell anemia, Tay-Sachs, or cystic fibrosis—is “designing inequality into our genes.”
The authors are right that reproductive technology isn’t open to everyone. A single cycle of in vitro fertilization (IVF)—the tool that combines sperm and egg in a lab—costs 57% of the average American’s annual income in 2018. The multiple cycles it usually takes to get a baby costs upwards of $100,000. Just fifteen states make insurers cover reproductive technology. Even these often limit coverage mandates to married couples unable to conceive, thereby denying equal benefits to non-traditional families.