Ricardo Asch is an Argentine-born obstetrician/gynecologist and endocrinologist who was originally notable for his pioneering work in reproductive technology, but who is now primarily known for his unethical practices at the University of California, Irvine's fertility clinic. The Orange County Register's investigations into these practices, which involved the misuse of human embryos and the harvesting-and-transplanting of human eggs without patient consent, led to that paper's receiving the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting, and were the catalyst in several regulatory reforms.

Dr. Asch was subsequently forced to resign from the clinic, which has since closed; he later moved to Mexico to avoid prosecution, and has resumed his work in in vitro fertilization.

External links

• Pulitzer.org's copy of the Orange County Register's first story exposing Dr Asch
• Pulitzer.org's copy of the second story
• UCI's official press release on Dr Asch's resignation