Asian Egg Donations in High Demand
According to the Los Angeles Times, the same market forces that drive the price of cotton, copper and other commodities—supply and demand—have allowed Asian women to command from approximately $10,000 to $20,000 for their eggs, also known as gametes or ova. Federal law bans the sale of human organs, but selling eggs is legal in the U.S., reports the Times.
Fertility industry experts say there are several reasons Asian eggs are in demand, including a cultural aversion to adoption. If a woman is infertile, they say, many Asian couples would prefer to use the husband’s sperm with a donor’s egg to conceive a child that carries at least half of the couple’s genetic identity than to adopt a baby from other parents.
Agencies say they are not paying for the eggs but for the women’s time, pain and inconvenience.
“There is an absence of regulation in pricing eggs, so it’s not illegal to pay more depending on a women’s race and ethnicity, where she went to school, what her SAT score is,” said Lisa Ikemoto, a law professor at UC Davis who has researched the human egg industry. “When you look at pricing practices, the eggs themselves are treated like commodities, with more valuable traits receiving higher compensation.”
Clinic operators say Asian donors whose eggs are proved fertile with their first donation are typically able to increase their fee by large amounts with each subsequent donation, while other donors typically receive much smaller sums.
Obama Nominates Filipino American to Federal Bench
Last month, President Barack Obama nominated Filipino American trial attorney Lorna Schofield to serve as a federal district court judge for the Southern District of New York. If confirmed by the United States Senate, Schofield would become the first Filipino American federal judge. Fil-Am groups lauded Schofield’s nomination, saying it was a big win for diversity.
“Given that Asian Americans are significantly underrepresented in the federal judiciary, Ms Schofield’s addition will greatly enhance the judiciary’s diversity,” said Ed Navarra, national chair of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA).
“In just over three years Obama has doubled the number of AAPI federal judges,” said KAYA National Co-Chair and attorney Jason T. Lagria. “His nomination of Attorney Schofield affirms his administration’s commitment to the Filipino American community and to have a judiciary that reflects the nation it serves.”
Obama Halts Deportation of Young Undocumented Immigrants: What Does This Mean for Asians?
On June 15, President Barack Obama suspended the threat of deportation against hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants, delighting crucial Hispanic and Asian American voters ahead of November’s election. Obama promised to work towards comprehensive immigration reform, a goal when he ran for office, but has made little progress since. Now the president is pledging to tackle the issue if he wins a second term.
The administration has been under pressure to take action as Congress has been sharply divided about the DREAM Act—proposed legislation that grants conditional residency to select young people brought to the U.S. illegally.
The halt to deportation is effective immediately, but will take 60 days to set up the application process, at which point individuals can come forward to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and show documentation they’ve met criteria for deferred action.
Time Magazine Cover: Inside the World of the ‘Illegal’ Immigrant
Since revealing his status a year ago as an undocumented immigrant, award-winning journalist Jose Vargas has received hundreds of messages from people who have come forward to share their own stories. Vargas wrote a recent follow-up feature for Time magazine titled, “Inside the World of the ‘Illegal’ Immigrant” where he incorporated their stories. What the others had to say will surprise you, Vargas wrote.
“There are an estimated 11.5 million people like me in this country, human beings with stories as varied as that of the U.S. itself yet who lack a legal claim to exist here,” Vargas writes. “It’s an issue that touches people of all ethnicities and backgrounds: Latinos and Asians, blacks and whites. (And yes, undocumented immigrants come from all sorts of countries, like Israel, Nigeria and Germany.) It’s an issue that goes beyond election-year politics and transcends the limitations of our broken immigration system and the policies being written to address them.”
He continued, “In the year since my public disclosure, at least 2,000 undocumented Americans—and we are, at heart, Americans—have contacted me and outed themselves, either in person or online through e-mail, Facebook and Twitter. Across the country, every day, more and more undocumented Americans and the people who support us are speaking out, challenging how our politicians, the media and the Supreme Court (in its expected decision on Arizona’s immigration law) frame the issue … We encourage you to share your views and your own stories.”
