Abstract
In this Article, I admit to committing crimes, specifically buying fertility drugs on the in vitro fertilization (IVF) drug grey market. Drawing from personal experience, I explore how people wanting to undergo IVF turn to the criminalized fertility drug grey market to access necessary but prohibitively expensive fertility medications that would otherwise be out of reach. In the absence of comprehensive insurance coverage, patients often rely on informal online communities to obtain medications at lower prices, often from other patients whose IVF cycles have been canceled or who have excess drugs. While these transactions fulfill a critical need, they also expose buyers to financial scams, fraudulent medications, and potential criminal liability under federal and state prescription drug laws.
I situate the grey market within broader legal and policy frameworks, analyzing the inequities that drive patients to participate in these transactions and the risks they face as a result. I trace the legal prohibitions against prescription drug resale, discuss the practical challenges of enforcement, and consider the implication of criminalizing transactions driven by medical necessity. Additionally, I examine how political and legal developments—such as state-level fetal personhood initiatives and the rising influence of pronatalist ideologies under the Trump Administration—shape the landscape of IVF access and regulation.
Despite the legal risks, engagement in the grey market is widespread. Patients who seek to build families through IVF face mounting financial and legal barriers, exacerbated by inconsistent insurance mandates and restrictive reproductive laws. I argue for decriminalizing the resale of IVF medications and implementing standardized insurance coverage to reduce or eliminate reliance on informal markets. By centering both my experiences and those of others in navigating this legal grey zone, I highlight the urgent need for policy reforms that recognize infertility as a medical condition requiring meaningful access to treatment.
Recommended Citation
Maybell Romero,
Unlikely Criminals: Inside the IVF Drug Grey Market,
75
Emory L. J.
1487
(2026).
Available at:
https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/elj/vol75/iss6/3