Secret Society doc explores complexities of assisted reproduction
Inside Canada's borders, if a woman pays an egg donor or a sperm donor $1 beyond reimbursement of expenses, it's punishable by up to 10 years in jail and up to $500,000 — even though she's allowed to go to another country to do this.
Complicating an already stressful and stigmatized world of infertility, women who are unable to conceive because their eggs are no longer viable are forced to take their medical needs into their own hands, as these punitive laws perpetuate secrecy surrounding egg donation and create a bizarrely complex world of assisted reproduction.
Exploring this under-acknowledged health crisis for Canadian women is Rebecca Campbell's first feature documentary, The Secret Society, which she wrote and directed, with Frederick Kroetsch and Bonnie Thompson as producers.
The director, who had her first child during the pandemic, came to understand this complicated world personally.
“My friend had several miscarriages,” says Campbell. “And it was really hard to find an egg donor in Canada, especially because the laws perpetuate fear. So I was her egg donor.”
Campbell notes one in six couples in the country struggle with fertility, yet the issues here are often secretive and taboo.
The film follows couples trying to get pregnant, an egg donor, and even two Canadian senators, each on either side of the issue. Campbell was happy to report the senators both loved the film.
“The Canadian Senate screened it and I did a question-and-answer with them,” she says. “And they're using it as part of their committee to re-evaluate the Canadian laws.”
Campbell dove deep into the complicated issues.
“Our bioethicist in the film goes into the difference between paying a donor for all her hard work, pain and suffering — just like the doctors and nurses get paid — versus the idea of just `paying for eggs.'”
The film also explores how, although common, anonymous donation is not ideal. Campbell is not alone in feeling a donor and child should know each other.
“A couple people have asked, `Are you an advocate for egg donation?' But it's not about that,” she says, “It's about getting a conversation started.”
A panel discussion will follow the one-time screening, and from here Campbell is touring the movie in-person to Toronto, Halifax and Vancouver.
The 89-minute, Telus-funded film plays at Metro Cinema at 6:50 p.m. Thursday. A portion of the $10 ticket going to Fertility Matters Canada.
ART
6/2: Wax This Way: The Paper Made Fantasy (Aviary)
Thru 6/3: Emily Hayes; Heather Savard (FAB Gallery)
6/4: Abstract'd (Bay 1 Gallery)
6/4-18: Wendy Skog: Weather of the Heart (Bugera Matheson)
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Thru 6/26: Ken Hawtin, Geff Blenkinsop, Ken Duncan (Gallery@501)
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COMEDY
6/2: Bob Angell (Comedy Factory)
6/2-4: Adam Blank (Comic Strip)
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6/4-5: Heart of the City Music & Arts Festival (Caboto Park)
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MUSIC
6/2: Landon Bushell and the Pockets (9910)
6/2: Saxophone Legacy (Yardbird)
6/2: The Threads, Shaguar (Blues on Whyte)
6/3: Dean Brody (River Cree)
6/3: Darkroom (Century Showroom)
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6/3: USS (Midway)
6/3-4: Rachmaninoff & Dvorak (Winspear)
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THEATRE
6/3: Horizons: A 21st Century Space Odyssey w/ Brian Cox (Jubilee)
6/4-5: Cheremosh's Mriya: Life in Rhythm (Jubilee)
6/4: The Fab Four — The Ultimate Tribute (River Cree)
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