Episode 61: Podcast #061 (S04): Jennifer Bilek

For our last episode this season, Kallie sits down with postpartum nurse, lactation consultant, writer, and mother of three, Emily. Emily reached out to us at the CBCNetwork after writing about her near miss experience as an almost egg donor at just nineteen years old. Why didn’t Emily commit to becoming an egg-donor? What horrible information did she find out about the clinic who recruited her? These are all questions we will find out in today’s episode of Venus Rising. Emily's background in women’s health and various experiences with birth and mothering allows for a robust discussion even beyond Emily’s personal experience with the fertility industry.  Through her writing on this vast topic and how it touches women and children, Emily hopes to spark critical thought and reverence for life, vitality and all that is good. It is in this spirit that Kallie and Emily also talk about the questions Emily seeks to explore in her writing.Listeners can find Emily’s writings at her Substack under the newsletter name  “Women’s Work” (https://theworkofwomen.substack.com) and on Instagram @tend.her.heart

Today I have the pleasure of sitting down with a very interesting man, Peter Boni. Peter credits his disruptive childhood, a college education from Univeristy of Massachusetts Amherst, decorated on-the-ground service as a US Army Special Operations Team Leader in Vietnam, the love of his family and friends, plus his luck-of-the-draw DNA with making him the person he has become today—a best-selling author, donor-conceived rights advocate, and fun-loving grandfather.Today we talk with Peter about his personal experience as a donor-conceived person, what he thinks of #BigFertility, and his best-selling book which intimately shares his personal odyssey and acquired expertise to advocate for regulatory oversight of the multibillion-dollar reproductive industry that conceives hundreds of half-siblings from a single donor, Uprooted. Uprooted has been twice recognized; first as the Winner of the 2022 Best Book Award, Narrative Nonfiction by American Bookfest, and second, as a 2023 Gold Medal Winner, Nonfiction Audiobook by The Independent Book Publisher’s Association. You can find and follow Peter by going to his website: http://www.peterjboni.com/ 

Today on the show we hear from a very broken-hearted guest sharing the story of her sister’s life and untimely death at just 39 years old. Breaz’s sister was determined to have her own biological children and went through seven rounds of IVF. After her last pregnancy, cancer took Breaz’s sisters life. Breaz shares her sister’s IVF story in hopes of cautioning other women considering IVF and ART technologies stating “we are not all meant to give birth, but we can still be moms in many ways”. The grief is ever fresh and immensely hard to process, so listeners, be patient as you listen and be forewarned that this episode might be emotional and triggering for some. 

Liz, social scientist and donor-conceived person, joins me today to discuss the complications of donor-conception, even when a child is raised knowing the truth about their conception. Liz earned her Ph.D. in Social/Personality Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2021 and since then she’s been an Assistant Professor of Psychology & Sociology at California Northstate University. Inspired by her own personal experience, Liz now studies attachment in donor-conception and she also recently founded a startup called Conception Connection which seeks to empower donor-conceived people by helping them with identity-related challenges and relationship building.Can you imagine starting each day wondering if you might be connected to another half sibling? What is her research showing about donor-conception? Is research being conducted on the donor-conceived population? What is Conception Connection (ConceptionConnection.co) and how can you get involved? Should egg and sperm donation be abolished? Join Liz and I as we discuss these questions and so much more! You can also find out more about Liz at https://elizabethblozano.com/. 

Today I have the opportunity to interview my first Detective, Chief of Police and Captain, Wendi Babst. Wendi worked in law enforcement in Oregon for over 31 years, retiring with the rank of Captain.In 2018, Wendi discovered she was the product of fertility fraud perpetrated against her mother in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since that time she has discovered many half-siblings scattered around the United States. Wendi’s story was featured in the HBO original documentary Baby God. She now works with a non-profit group to advocate for federal and state fertility fraud legislation.Wendi has completed extensive education and training in criminal justice and is currently working towards a graduate certificate in Forensic Genetic Genealogy at the University of New Haven, partially inspired by her own DNA discovery. 

Gabrielle Clark is a mother and fierce advocate for children and parents, specifically advocating for free speech rights, sex-based rights and parental rights. When Gabrielle’s daughter was captured by the gender identity industry, being socially transitioned at school, she implemented a globally utilized program to affirm reality, eventually helping free her daughter from the clutches of the gender industry and social transition at her school. After seeing her daughter desist, Gabrielle began devoting her time and energy raising awareness about the harms of social transitioning and began fighting against “gender identity” indoctrination in education.  It is her mission now to help others around the globe by offering personal guidance, powerful tools and helpful resources. You can follow Gabrielle on Twitter with the handle @GabsClark5 and you find out more about her program Affirming Reality at https://affirmingreality.com and on twitter @affirmreal

Welcome back to season 5! Today I have the privilege of welcoming Alesia a retired nurse, Army veteran, blog writer, and creator and CEO of  NPE (Not Parent Expected) Nurses (NPEN), a brand new resource center for people with an NPE (non-paternity event). NPEN is staffed by a collective of registered nursing professionals volunteering to support the needs of those navigating DNA surprise. Together, her team of nurses, many with their own personal experience of an NPE event, work to identify and understand the unique interests and needs of NPE clients as an NPE event can be deeply unsettling and lead to a profound identity crisis. Don’t worry, we will explore what all of that means today in the show. Besides NPEN, Alesia has co-founded two nonprofits in her pioneering work with NPEs and remains a leading advocate for those impacted by a DNA surprise. Her service on behalf of this community includes education, genealogical research, networking and the provision of informed emotional support.  In addition, she has created online private groups that have reached people in the 1000’s. Alesia’s own experience with a commercial DNA kit in 2014 resulted in severe shock when she discovered that the man who’d raised her was not her genetic father.  Learning the identity of her biological father took four long years of research, and the news that he’d passed away years before her discovery will always be a profound source of sorrow for her.  After connecting with her genetic family, she learned that four relatives had suffered from brain tumors much like her own.  Had she known she had this genetic predisposition, her doctors could have diagnosed her tumor much sooner.  Spurred by her intimate knowledge of the harm done by genetic deceit, Alesia has proposed and fought hard for broad-based fertility fraud legislation.  Such bills have been introduced in multiple states; Iowa is the first to pass one into law.  You can find out more about Alesia’s resource center at https://nursingfornpes.com/ and follow her on Facebook at Alesia Weiss. If you are impacted by DNA surprise, you can join her Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/thisnpelife/. 

Welcome back to Venus Rising. We are excited you’re joining us for the first episode of season 5 with Eve Wiley! Originally from a small rural town in Texas, Eve uncovered a life changing family secret about her genetic identity. In 2019, she shared her story to expose the dark side of the grossly unregulated fertility industry. Eve's story, documented by ABC's 20/20, thrust her into an advocacy role to raise awareness on fertility fraud and negligence. She has successfully lobbied to change the laws in many states to protect those using artificial reproductive technologies, and continues to advocate for more accountability within the industry.You can find and follow Eve by going to her website: https://evewiley.com on Twitter, at @EveAndrewsWiley, and on Instagram at @EveAWiley. We hope todays episode inspires you to think beyond the masses!

As we wrap up season 4 of Venus Rising, I thought it appropriate to welcome back Camille Kiefel to the show! If you missed the first conversation with Camille, I encourage you to go back and have a listen as she shares with us her personal story of how she embraced a non-binary identity and was convinced to have her breasts removed in 2020. Now, after addressing her physical and mental health issues, Camille embraces her life as a woman and is speaking out to help others. Today we focus on her advocacy work as she shares with us how she hopes to help others who are being led down the path she once was. You can find Camille on Twitter @getbettertweets and you can support Camille with her lawsuit at https://www.givesendgo.com/camille_kiefel_lawsuit

Walt Heyer was a husband, father and corporate executive who underwent “sex change” surgery as an adult at the age of 42 and lived his life pretending to be a woman for eight years. Restored now for over 30 years, Walt uses his unique experience to help others who regret their so-called “gender change” and to advocate for and protect children from irreversible medical interventions. Walt has shared his story and written for The Daily Wire, USAToday, the Washington Time, as well as others. Walt’s latest book, Trans Life Survivors, offers up-to-date research and 30 representative stories from the thousands of people who have contacted him for help through his website, SexChangeRegret.com. Walt’s story is told in his autobiography titled, A Transgender’s Faith, and has been the subject of numerous documentaries. Walt and his wife of 25 years work together to share his story of redemption and message of hope throughout the world. You can read and watch more about walt on his website https://waltheyer.com