Word: asch
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...much as I dislike Newt, he deserves better than being a scapegoat for the incompetence of the entire Republican Party." MARK ASCH North Yarmouth, Maine...
Like the Jorges, the woman who gave birth to the children (whose names have been withheld) sought treatment from Dr. Ricardo Asch, a celebrated fertility specialist at the Center for Reproductive Health at the University of California at Irvine (UCI). She and her husband thought their travail had finally ended when, in 1989, she gave birth to twins. Then last month they received a letter from the Jorges' lawyer demanding that the boy and girl undergo genetic testing. "We do not want to unduly disrupt your lives," the letter read without intended irony, "but rather to help facilitate a relationship...
Twisted as the drama may seem, the Jorge case was a heartache waiting to happen. During the past decade, the number of U.S. fertility clinics has swelled tenfold, to 300, yet the industry has evaded any regulatory oversight. Last May scandal erupted when Asch and two other UCI doctors were accused of stealing eggs and embryos from as many as 100 patients for research or implantation in others. Asch, who has fled to Mexico City, is currently under federal investigation for mail fraud, tax evasion and fertility-drug smuggling, as well as the thefts. Professing his innocence, he told TIME...
Some 40 former patients, many of whom eventually conceived or adopted children, have sued Asch and UCI for monetary damages. So far, only the Jorges are waging a custody battle, a decision they made after their attorney Melanie Blum scoured UCI records to determine the fate of their embryos and eggs. Yet it is not entirely clear what outcome the Jorges seek. Last month Loretta told the Register that if only her eggs were involved, she would press for joint custody; then the twins could shuttle between the two couples, who live in the same middle-class neighborhood. "If this...
...results were startling. Using GIFT and ZIFT, clinics were soon reporting + implantation rates two to three times as high as those achieved in their own IVF facilities. Among couples for whom sperm quality is not a factor, a single cycle of GIFT or ZIFT at Asch's clinic can result in pregnancy 40% to 50% of the time. A healthy, fertile couple trying to conceive naturally in any given month has about a 25% success rate...