The Mason Institute welcomed Prof Francoise Baylis of Dalhousie University as this year's speaker at the Annual JK Mason Lecture. This annual series of lectures honours our namesake, Prof J Kenyon Mason, and seeks to reflect the openness of spirit and mind he exemplified during his more than forty years at the University of Edinburgh.

Prof Baylis addressed the topic "Baby-making: The Harms of Commercial Contract Pregnancy". She explored the exploitation of impoverished reproductive labourers in low-income countries and the harms done to children who are born of these arrangements, and highlight the possibly damaging effects of this type of family-making on identity formation.