The advertisement promises $35,000 to an "intelligent and athletic woman with a sunny disposition," a high SAT score, specific physical attributes, and the willingness to donate her eggs to a childless couple.
There is, however, a catch.
The ad, which has been appearing in the classified section of The Dartmouth, is false.
Jennifer Whitcomb '00 called the 800-number in the ad. Her call was returned a few days later, not by a woman looking to have children, but by a freelance reporter investigating a story for fashion magazine Marie Claire.
"There have been a number of news stories about how students have been targeted by couples who are looking for egg donors. We think that if this story affects college students, it is relevant to our readers," said Michele Lavery, deputy editor of Marie Claire.
"The point of the story is to go behind all the hearsay and the rumors" about women who donate their eggs, Lavery said.
Whitcomb said the woman who returned her call identified herself as a reporter immediately.
According to Whitcomb, the reporter said she had previously published similar stories about adoption and other reproduction-related issues.
"She asked some really informed questions," Whitcomb said. "The problem I had was with her deception."
Whitcomb said she thought that for such an "ethically charged article," the reporter was gathering information in a questionable manner.
"There are ways of getting the story without deception," she said.
Whitcomb also said the reporter seemed to have a slant on the story about egg donors.
"She seemed to think it was a rash decision," and that whoever responded to the ad "was being irresponsible or impulsive," she said.
"We do a lot of investigative stories," Lavery said. "One aspect of Marie Claire ... is that we insist on using the full identities" of the people interviewed in the published article, and each participant is photographed. Other similarly-styled magazines, such as Cosmopolitan, do not insist on knowing the full identities of the people used in their articles, she said.
According to Lavery, investigation into the egg donor story is ongoing. She said she expects the story to run in Marie Claire in the fall.
