Thérèse Murphy (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199562572
- eISBN:
- 9780191705328
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562572.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Intellectual Property, IT, and Media Law, Human Rights and Immigration
The first IVF baby was born in the 1970s. Less than twenty years later, cloning and GM food were popular talking-points, and information and communication technologies had transformed everyday life. ...
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The first IVF baby was born in the 1970s. Less than twenty years later, cloning and GM food were popular talking-points, and information and communication technologies had transformed everyday life. In 2000, the first map of the human genome was sequenced. More recently there has been much discussion of the economic and social benefits of nanotechnology. This book contributes to increasing calls for regulation — or better regulation — of these and other new technologies. Drawing on an international team of legal scholars, it reviews and develops the role of human rights in the regulation of new technologies. Three controversies at the intersection between human rights and new technologies are given particular attention. First, are human rights contributing to a brave new world of choice, where human dignity is fundamentally compromised? Second, are new technologies a threat to human rights? Finally, can human rights contribute to better regulation of these technologies?Less
The first IVF baby was born in the 1970s. Less than twenty years later, cloning and GM food were popular talking-points, and information and communication technologies had transformed everyday life. In 2000, the first map of the human genome was sequenced. More recently there has been much discussion of the economic and social benefits of nanotechnology. This book contributes to increasing calls for regulation — or better regulation — of these and other new technologies. Drawing on an international team of legal scholars, it reviews and develops the role of human rights in the regulation of new technologies. Three controversies at the intersection between human rights and new technologies are given particular attention. First, are human rights contributing to a brave new world of choice, where human dignity is fundamentally compromised? Second, are new technologies a threat to human rights? Finally, can human rights contribute to better regulation of these technologies?
Thérèse Murphy
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199562572
- eISBN:
- 9780191705328
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562572.003.0006
- Subject:
- Law, Intellectual Property, IT, and Media Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter argues that the complexity of reproductive choice is missing from much public discussion on assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Such discussions tend to focus on limits; this can ...
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This chapter argues that the complexity of reproductive choice is missing from much public discussion on assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Such discussions tend to focus on limits; this can make reproductive choice feel like a bad argument and lead to it being excluded from proper consideration. To help secure the speakability of choice, human rights lawyers should pay more attention to ethnographic studies of ART users. Ethnographies of decision-making in new technologies could help to change what human rights lawyers notice and, in turn, how they frame issues and conduct arguments.Less
This chapter argues that the complexity of reproductive choice is missing from much public discussion on assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Such discussions tend to focus on limits; this can make reproductive choice feel like a bad argument and lead to it being excluded from proper consideration. To help secure the speakability of choice, human rights lawyers should pay more attention to ethnographic studies of ART users. Ethnographies of decision-making in new technologies could help to change what human rights lawyers notice and, in turn, how they frame issues and conduct arguments.
Marcia C. Inhorn
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691148885
- eISBN:
- 9781400842629
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691148885.003.0009
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter presents Eyad's story about double forms of emergence—both technological and masculine. On the one hand, new forms of reproductive technology are continuously emerging, and once they ...
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This chapter presents Eyad's story about double forms of emergence—both technological and masculine. On the one hand, new forms of reproductive technology are continuously emerging, and once they reach the reproductive marketplace, they are being rapidly discussed, debated, and, in most cases, deployed in Middle Eastern IVF settings. Egg donation is a case in point: after entering Iran in 1999, it spread within a year to Lebanon, where Shia Muslim couples were the first to access this reproductive technology. The willingness of Middle Eastern husbands such as Eyad to accommodate egg donation is a powerful marker of their emerging masculinities. These men have effectively prioritized their wives' own motherhood desires and their conjugal happiness over religious orthodoxies and various practical obstacles and apprehensions.Less
This chapter presents Eyad's story about double forms of emergence—both technological and masculine. On the one hand, new forms of reproductive technology are continuously emerging, and once they reach the reproductive marketplace, they are being rapidly discussed, debated, and, in most cases, deployed in Middle Eastern IVF settings. Egg donation is a case in point: after entering Iran in 1999, it spread within a year to Lebanon, where Shia Muslim couples were the first to access this reproductive technology. The willingness of Middle Eastern husbands such as Eyad to accommodate egg donation is a powerful marker of their emerging masculinities. These men have effectively prioritized their wives' own motherhood desires and their conjugal happiness over religious orthodoxies and various practical obstacles and apprehensions.
Gay Becker
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520224308
- eISBN:
- 9780520925243
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520224308.003.0002
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Medical Anthropology
This chapter explores how reproductive technologies embody cultural phenomena and become entwined with people's lives. It examines technologies designed to bring about conception from the perspective ...
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This chapter explores how reproductive technologies embody cultural phenomena and become entwined with people's lives. It examines technologies designed to bring about conception from the perspective of the women and men who use them. Drawing on two studies of infertility with over 300 women and men in the United States who were interviewed several times over one or two years, it tells their stories of the effect of reproductive technologies on their lives. It examines how people seek solutions while resisting the heavy moral force of expectations. This chapter also explores how women and men negotiate gender and gender relations, how they tease apart and analyze the various elements of the cultural ideal of biological parenthood, and how they assess the biomedical system in which they ambivalently participate. It traces how that experience becomes increasingly politicized as they confront the powerful social, cultural, and economic forces that shape this industry, and how they act to influence the process in which they are engaged.Less
This chapter explores how reproductive technologies embody cultural phenomena and become entwined with people's lives. It examines technologies designed to bring about conception from the perspective of the women and men who use them. Drawing on two studies of infertility with over 300 women and men in the United States who were interviewed several times over one or two years, it tells their stories of the effect of reproductive technologies on their lives. It examines how people seek solutions while resisting the heavy moral force of expectations. This chapter also explores how women and men negotiate gender and gender relations, how they tease apart and analyze the various elements of the cultural ideal of biological parenthood, and how they assess the biomedical system in which they ambivalently participate. It traces how that experience becomes increasingly politicized as they confront the powerful social, cultural, and economic forces that shape this industry, and how they act to influence the process in which they are engaged.
Joanna L. Grossman and Lawrence M. Friedman
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691149820
- eISBN:
- 9781400839773
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691149820.003.0014
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
This chapter examines further challenges to the traditional family by exploring expanded definitions of legal parentage. It considers advances in reproductive technology, such as in-vitro ...
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This chapter examines further challenges to the traditional family by exploring expanded definitions of legal parentage. It considers advances in reproductive technology, such as in-vitro fertilization and artificial insemination, to say nothing of the use of sperm donors, egg donors, and gestational surrogates. With so many options made available, biological parenthood is now open to infertile couples, single women, and same-sex couples. But these changes challenge the traditional rules of parentage. Family law has thus been forced to adapt to a world in which babies can be made without sex and with ties to multiple adults, whether married or not.Less
This chapter examines further challenges to the traditional family by exploring expanded definitions of legal parentage. It considers advances in reproductive technology, such as in-vitro fertilization and artificial insemination, to say nothing of the use of sperm donors, egg donors, and gestational surrogates. With so many options made available, biological parenthood is now open to infertile couples, single women, and same-sex couples. But these changes challenge the traditional rules of parentage. Family law has thus been forced to adapt to a world in which babies can be made without sex and with ties to multiple adults, whether married or not.
Gay Becker
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520224308
- eISBN:
- 9780520925243
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520224308.003.0015
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Medical Anthropology
As new reproductive technologies reflect cultural meanings and become a conduit for changing cultural practices, they signify both a challenge to and a reinforcement of the moral order. In light of ...
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As new reproductive technologies reflect cultural meanings and become a conduit for changing cultural practices, they signify both a challenge to and a reinforcement of the moral order. In light of enhanced politicization of gender experiences vis-à-vis technology, the moral economy of new reproductive technologies, built on a cultural ideology of productivity, maintains the status quo. Women and men struggling with infertility confront cultural ideologies surrounding gender norms. They seek a fit between their life situations and the cultural ideologies to which they subscribe. Given the implausibility of this task, they have been forced to work intensively with cultural dialogues in order to reconcile their experiences with cultural expectations. In doing so, they have been performing gender. This chapter takes stock of the challenges that this task entails. It consists redefining the predominant cultural ideals of manhood and womanhood. It requires altering pre-defined notions with customized ones.Less
As new reproductive technologies reflect cultural meanings and become a conduit for changing cultural practices, they signify both a challenge to and a reinforcement of the moral order. In light of enhanced politicization of gender experiences vis-à-vis technology, the moral economy of new reproductive technologies, built on a cultural ideology of productivity, maintains the status quo. Women and men struggling with infertility confront cultural ideologies surrounding gender norms. They seek a fit between their life situations and the cultural ideologies to which they subscribe. Given the implausibility of this task, they have been forced to work intensively with cultural dialogues in order to reconcile their experiences with cultural expectations. In doing so, they have been performing gender. This chapter takes stock of the challenges that this task entails. It consists redefining the predominant cultural ideals of manhood and womanhood. It requires altering pre-defined notions with customized ones.
Rachel Bowlby
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199607945
- eISBN:
- 9780191760518
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199607945.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
Among the elementary human stories, parenthood has tended to go untold. Compared to the spectacular attachments of romantic love, it is only the predictable sequel. Compared to the passions of ...
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Among the elementary human stories, parenthood has tended to go untold. Compared to the spectacular attachments of romantic love, it is only the predictable sequel. Compared to the passions of childhood, it is just a background. In reality, parenthood has quite distinctive stories of desire and grief, anxiety and hatred embodied in the foundlings of abandonment and the ‘seeklings’ of parental longing. In recent decades, too, far-reaching changes in typical family forms and in procreative possibilities (through reproductive technologies) have engendered new stories and questions. Why do people want (or not want, or want not) to be parents? How has the ‘choice’ first enabled by contraception changed the meaning of parenthood? The first half of the book looks at the implications of changing modes of biological parenthood and pre-parenthood (through reproductive technologies); at the multiplication of new parental parts and some older divisions; and at various historical antecedents to contemporary ways of thinking about parenthood, from choice to surrogacy. The second half then discovers a more complex history to the literary representation of parents and parenthood than may at first appear. It looks at how parental stories in literature may be present but obscured by the louder forms of love that claim the reader's first attention, and traces stories of parenthood back through well-known works (by Euripides, Henry Fielding, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, Henry James, George Moore, and Edith Wharton). These stories have taken many forms, through diverse and paradigmatic orientations to parenthood: rejection, acceptance, or (sometimes all-encompassing) desire; with their corresponding responses in abandonment, recognition, adoption, or just plain ‘having’ children.Less
Among the elementary human stories, parenthood has tended to go untold. Compared to the spectacular attachments of romantic love, it is only the predictable sequel. Compared to the passions of childhood, it is just a background. In reality, parenthood has quite distinctive stories of desire and grief, anxiety and hatred embodied in the foundlings of abandonment and the ‘seeklings’ of parental longing. In recent decades, too, far-reaching changes in typical family forms and in procreative possibilities (through reproductive technologies) have engendered new stories and questions. Why do people want (or not want, or want not) to be parents? How has the ‘choice’ first enabled by contraception changed the meaning of parenthood? The first half of the book looks at the implications of changing modes of biological parenthood and pre-parenthood (through reproductive technologies); at the multiplication of new parental parts and some older divisions; and at various historical antecedents to contemporary ways of thinking about parenthood, from choice to surrogacy. The second half then discovers a more complex history to the literary representation of parents and parenthood than may at first appear. It looks at how parental stories in literature may be present but obscured by the louder forms of love that claim the reader's first attention, and traces stories of parenthood back through well-known works (by Euripides, Henry Fielding, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, Henry James, George Moore, and Edith Wharton). These stories have taken many forms, through diverse and paradigmatic orientations to parenthood: rejection, acceptance, or (sometimes all-encompassing) desire; with their corresponding responses in abandonment, recognition, adoption, or just plain ‘having’ children.
Jonathan Glover
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199290925
- eISBN:
- 9780191710452
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199290925.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Progress in genetic and reproductive technology now offers us the possibility of choosing what kinds of children we do and don't have. Should we welcome this power, or should we fear its ...
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Progress in genetic and reproductive technology now offers us the possibility of choosing what kinds of children we do and don't have. Should we welcome this power, or should we fear its implications? There is no ethical question more urgent than this: we may be at a turning-point in the history of humanity. This book shows us how we might try to answer this question, and examines other provoking and disturbing questions. Surely parents owe it to their children to give them the best life they can? Increasingly we are able to reduce the number of babies born with disabilities and disorders. But there is a powerful new challenge to conventional thinking about the desirability of doing so: this comes from the voices of those who have these conditions. They call into question the very definition of disability. How do we justify trying to avoid bringing people like them into being? In 2002 a deaf couple used sperm donated by a friend with hereditary deafness to have a deaf baby: they took the view that deafness is not a disability, but a difference. Starting with the issues raised by this case, this book examines the emotive idea of ‘eugenics’, and the ethics of attempting to enhance people, for non-medical reasons, by means of genetic choices. Should parents be free, not only to have children free from disabilities, but to choose, for instance, the colour of their eyes or hair? This is no longer a distant prospect, but an existing power which we cannot wish away. What impact will such interventions have, both on the individuals concerned and on society as a whole? Should we try to make general improvements to the genetic make-up of human beings? Is there a central core of human nature with which we must not interfere?Less
Progress in genetic and reproductive technology now offers us the possibility of choosing what kinds of children we do and don't have. Should we welcome this power, or should we fear its implications? There is no ethical question more urgent than this: we may be at a turning-point in the history of humanity. This book shows us how we might try to answer this question, and examines other provoking and disturbing questions. Surely parents owe it to their children to give them the best life they can? Increasingly we are able to reduce the number of babies born with disabilities and disorders. But there is a powerful new challenge to conventional thinking about the desirability of doing so: this comes from the voices of those who have these conditions. They call into question the very definition of disability. How do we justify trying to avoid bringing people like them into being? In 2002 a deaf couple used sperm donated by a friend with hereditary deafness to have a deaf baby: they took the view that deafness is not a disability, but a difference. Starting with the issues raised by this case, this book examines the emotive idea of ‘eugenics’, and the ethics of attempting to enhance people, for non-medical reasons, by means of genetic choices. Should parents be free, not only to have children free from disabilities, but to choose, for instance, the colour of their eyes or hair? This is no longer a distant prospect, but an existing power which we cannot wish away. What impact will such interventions have, both on the individuals concerned and on society as a whole? Should we try to make general improvements to the genetic make-up of human beings? Is there a central core of human nature with which we must not interfere?
Jonathan Glover
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199290925
- eISBN:
- 9780191710452
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199290925.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This introductory chapter begins with a brief discussion of whether the power to reduce the incidence of disabilities and disorders given by developments in genetics and reproductive technologies ...
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This introductory chapter begins with a brief discussion of whether the power to reduce the incidence of disabilities and disorders given by developments in genetics and reproductive technologies should be welcomed or feared. An overview of the subsequent chapters is presented.Less
This introductory chapter begins with a brief discussion of whether the power to reduce the incidence of disabilities and disorders given by developments in genetics and reproductive technologies should be welcomed or feared. An overview of the subsequent chapters is presented.
John H. Evans
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226222653
- eISBN:
- 9780226222707
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226222707.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Science, Technology and Environment
Scientific breakthroughs have led us to a point where soon we will be able to make specific choices about the genetic makeup of our offspring. In fact, this reality has arrived—and it is only a ...
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Scientific breakthroughs have led us to a point where soon we will be able to make specific choices about the genetic makeup of our offspring. In fact, this reality has arrived—and it is only a matter of time before the technology becomes widespread. Much like past arguments about stem-cell research, the coming debate over these reproductive genetic technologies (RGTs) will be both political and, for many people, religious. In order to understand how the debate will play out in the United States, this book presents an in-depth study of the claims made about RGTs by religious people from across the political spectrum. Some of the opinions this book documents are familiar, but others—such as the idea that certain genetic conditions produce a “meaningful suffering” that is, ultimately, desirable—provide a fascinating glimpse of religious reactions to cutting-edge science. Not surprisingly, the book discovers that for many people opinion on the issue closely relates to their feelings about abortion, but it also finds a shared moral language that offers a way around the unproductive polarization of the abortion debate and other culture-war concerns.Less
Scientific breakthroughs have led us to a point where soon we will be able to make specific choices about the genetic makeup of our offspring. In fact, this reality has arrived—and it is only a matter of time before the technology becomes widespread. Much like past arguments about stem-cell research, the coming debate over these reproductive genetic technologies (RGTs) will be both political and, for many people, religious. In order to understand how the debate will play out in the United States, this book presents an in-depth study of the claims made about RGTs by religious people from across the political spectrum. Some of the opinions this book documents are familiar, but others—such as the idea that certain genetic conditions produce a “meaningful suffering” that is, ultimately, desirable—provide a fascinating glimpse of religious reactions to cutting-edge science. Not surprisingly, the book discovers that for many people opinion on the issue closely relates to their feelings about abortion, but it also finds a shared moral language that offers a way around the unproductive polarization of the abortion debate and other culture-war concerns.
Marcia C. Inhorn
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691148885
- eISBN:
- 9781400842629
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691148885.003.0006
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter explores the tragic story of Shaykh Ali—a story of a devout Muslim man struggling with his infertile body, his attitudes toward sperm donation, and his unrequited sexuality. Shaykh Ali ...
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This chapter explores the tragic story of Shaykh Ali—a story of a devout Muslim man struggling with his infertile body, his attitudes toward sperm donation, and his unrequited sexuality. Shaykh Ali suffers from a preventable form of male infertility—namely, uncorrected, undescended testicles—which have stopped him from being able to produce sperm. Not all Middle Eastern men are as religiously pious as Shaykh Ali, nor have they suffered the same physical and emotional pain. Nonetheless, Shaykh Ali's story speaks in a powerful way to many of the themes in this study; including the role of Islam in shaping the uses of assisted reproductive technologies, Muslim men's general unwillingness to consider sperm donation as a solution to male infertility, and emerging areas of dissonance and dissent to the prevailing religious discourse.Less
This chapter explores the tragic story of Shaykh Ali—a story of a devout Muslim man struggling with his infertile body, his attitudes toward sperm donation, and his unrequited sexuality. Shaykh Ali suffers from a preventable form of male infertility—namely, uncorrected, undescended testicles—which have stopped him from being able to produce sperm. Not all Middle Eastern men are as religiously pious as Shaykh Ali, nor have they suffered the same physical and emotional pain. Nonetheless, Shaykh Ali's story speaks in a powerful way to many of the themes in this study; including the role of Islam in shaping the uses of assisted reproductive technologies, Muslim men's general unwillingness to consider sperm donation as a solution to male infertility, and emerging areas of dissonance and dissent to the prevailing religious discourse.
Doris Leibetseder
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781526138569
- eISBN:
- 9781526152138
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7765/9781526138576.00011
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Gender Studies
This chapter explores the use of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs) by queer and transgender people and how they have to perform particular bodily and intimate selves in the processes of ...
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This chapter explores the use of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs) by queer and transgender people and how they have to perform particular bodily and intimate selves in the processes of seeking ART (Mamo 2007, 2013; Armuand et al., 2017). The bioprecarity of queer and transgender people is produced by the enactment of certain kinds of categorical framing (Foucault 1966, 1976; Summerville, 1998) in the laws regulating ARTs. Prohibitive laws in some states are often circumvented by going abroad. This chapter therefore argues that queer and trans people’s bioprecarity also results from the intimate labour queer and transgender people have to undertake to overcome prohibitive laws and hetero- and cisnormative medical institutions as shown e.g. in studies about trans people’s experiences with ART (James-Abra et al., 2015, Armuand et al., 2017).Less
This chapter explores the use of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs) by queer and transgender people and how they have to perform particular bodily and intimate selves in the processes of seeking ART (Mamo 2007, 2013; Armuand et al., 2017). The bioprecarity of queer and transgender people is produced by the enactment of certain kinds of categorical framing (Foucault 1966, 1976; Summerville, 1998) in the laws regulating ARTs. Prohibitive laws in some states are often circumvented by going abroad. This chapter therefore argues that queer and trans people’s bioprecarity also results from the intimate labour queer and transgender people have to undertake to overcome prohibitive laws and hetero- and cisnormative medical institutions as shown e.g. in studies about trans people’s experiences with ART (James-Abra et al., 2015, Armuand et al., 2017).
Judith Daar
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780300137156
- eISBN:
- 9780300229035
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300137156.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Medical Law
A provocative examination of how unequal access to reproductive technology replays the sins of the eugenics movement. Eugenics, the effort to improve the human species by inhibiting reproduction of ...
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A provocative examination of how unequal access to reproductive technology replays the sins of the eugenics movement. Eugenics, the effort to improve the human species by inhibiting reproduction of “inferior” genetic strains, ultimately came to be regarded as the great shame of the Progressive movement. This book argues that current attitudes toward the potential users of modern assisted reproductive technologies threaten to replicate eugenics' same discriminatory practices. The book asserts how barriers that block certain people's access to reproductive technologies are often founded on biases rooted in notions of class, race, and marital status. As a result, poor, minority, unmarried, disabled, and LGBT individuals are denied technologies available to well-off nonminority heterosexual applicants. An original argument on a highly emotional and important issue, this work offers a surprising departure from more familiar arguments on the issue as it warns physicians, government agencies, and the general public against repeating the mistakes of the past.Less
A provocative examination of how unequal access to reproductive technology replays the sins of the eugenics movement. Eugenics, the effort to improve the human species by inhibiting reproduction of “inferior” genetic strains, ultimately came to be regarded as the great shame of the Progressive movement. This book argues that current attitudes toward the potential users of modern assisted reproductive technologies threaten to replicate eugenics' same discriminatory practices. The book asserts how barriers that block certain people's access to reproductive technologies are often founded on biases rooted in notions of class, race, and marital status. As a result, poor, minority, unmarried, disabled, and LGBT individuals are denied technologies available to well-off nonminority heterosexual applicants. An original argument on a highly emotional and important issue, this work offers a surprising departure from more familiar arguments on the issue as it warns physicians, government agencies, and the general public against repeating the mistakes of the past.
Gay Becker
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520224308
- eISBN:
- 9780520925243
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520224308.003.0008
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Medical Anthropology
This chapter states that women and men equate new reproductive technologies with hope. Hope is closely associated with American notions of individualism and responsibility for health. Both lay and ...
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This chapter states that women and men equate new reproductive technologies with hope. Hope is closely associated with American notions of individualism and responsibility for health. Both lay and medical literature attests to the importance of maintaining a hopeful attitude in taking charge of one's illness, and the propensity for optimism is reflected in medical practice. Hope escalates as couples wait to see if they have qualified for an IVF (in vitro fertilization) program. Assessments of the odds escalate as well. In the field of reproductive technology, hope has become part of the process of commodification, a marketing tool. Persistence too is appropriated in this way. It is emphasized by the biomedical science establishment and the medical technology industry. Persistence, the means by which people attempt to control their environment, is demonstrated by those seeking medical solutions for a wide range of conditions. This chapter also explains the effects of marketing on consumer's attitudes.Less
This chapter states that women and men equate new reproductive technologies with hope. Hope is closely associated with American notions of individualism and responsibility for health. Both lay and medical literature attests to the importance of maintaining a hopeful attitude in taking charge of one's illness, and the propensity for optimism is reflected in medical practice. Hope escalates as couples wait to see if they have qualified for an IVF (in vitro fertilization) program. Assessments of the odds escalate as well. In the field of reproductive technology, hope has become part of the process of commodification, a marketing tool. Persistence too is appropriated in this way. It is emphasized by the biomedical science establishment and the medical technology industry. Persistence, the means by which people attempt to control their environment, is demonstrated by those seeking medical solutions for a wide range of conditions. This chapter also explains the effects of marketing on consumer's attitudes.
Susan Markens
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520252035
- eISBN:
- 9780520940970
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520252035.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gender and Sexuality
This book takes on one of the hottest issues on the fertility front—surrogate motherhood—and illuminates the culture wars that have erupted over new reproductive technologies in the United States. In ...
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This book takes on one of the hottest issues on the fertility front—surrogate motherhood—and illuminates the culture wars that have erupted over new reproductive technologies in the United States. In an innovative analysis of legislative responses to surrogacy in the bellwether states of New York and California, it explores how discourses about gender, family, race, genetics, rights, and choice have shaped policies aimed at this issue. The author examines the views of key players, including legislators, women's organizations, religious groups, the media, and others. In a study that finds surprising ideological agreement among those with opposing views of surrogate motherhood, the author challenges common assumptions about our responses to reproductive technologies and at the same time offers a picture of how reproductive politics shape social policy.Less
This book takes on one of the hottest issues on the fertility front—surrogate motherhood—and illuminates the culture wars that have erupted over new reproductive technologies in the United States. In an innovative analysis of legislative responses to surrogacy in the bellwether states of New York and California, it explores how discourses about gender, family, race, genetics, rights, and choice have shaped policies aimed at this issue. The author examines the views of key players, including legislators, women's organizations, religious groups, the media, and others. In a study that finds surprising ideological agreement among those with opposing views of surrogate motherhood, the author challenges common assumptions about our responses to reproductive technologies and at the same time offers a picture of how reproductive politics shape social policy.
Judith Daar
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780300137156
- eISBN:
- 9780300229035
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300137156.003.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Medical Law
This chapter discusses how the world of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) offers those who cannot reproduce the old-fashioned way various medical techniques aimed at achieving pregnancy by ...
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This chapter discusses how the world of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) offers those who cannot reproduce the old-fashioned way various medical techniques aimed at achieving pregnancy by means other than sexual intercourse. By disaggregating sex from reproduction, ART is the story of both technical sophistication and social liberation. The shakeup of long-established medical, social, and familial norms has been one of ART's hallmarks, a distinguishing characteristic that often places it in the crossfire of contemporary culture wars. Though designed as mere medical techniques to overcome infertility, ART's increasing invocation by those historically deprived of reproductive opportunities invites scrutiny into its every use and its very existence.Less
This chapter discusses how the world of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) offers those who cannot reproduce the old-fashioned way various medical techniques aimed at achieving pregnancy by means other than sexual intercourse. By disaggregating sex from reproduction, ART is the story of both technical sophistication and social liberation. The shakeup of long-established medical, social, and familial norms has been one of ART's hallmarks, a distinguishing characteristic that often places it in the crossfire of contemporary culture wars. Though designed as mere medical techniques to overcome infertility, ART's increasing invocation by those historically deprived of reproductive opportunities invites scrutiny into its every use and its very existence.
Laura Harrison
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781479808175
- eISBN:
- 9781479843589
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479808175.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
This chapter places reproductive technologies in historical perspective, beginning with the birth of the first child born through in vitro fertilization in 1978, the accompanied explosion of ...
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This chapter places reproductive technologies in historical perspective, beginning with the birth of the first child born through in vitro fertilization in 1978, the accompanied explosion of infertility services in the United States, and the development of gestational surrogacy. This chapter also considers how the advent of gestational surrogacy complicated the selection of a surrogate, the surrogate population, and the role of race in the reproductive technology industry. This chapter also introduces the feminist framework within which this book is situated by contextualizing the varied feminist responses to ARTs in the last several decades.Less
This chapter places reproductive technologies in historical perspective, beginning with the birth of the first child born through in vitro fertilization in 1978, the accompanied explosion of infertility services in the United States, and the development of gestational surrogacy. This chapter also considers how the advent of gestational surrogacy complicated the selection of a surrogate, the surrogate population, and the role of race in the reproductive technology industry. This chapter also introduces the feminist framework within which this book is situated by contextualizing the varied feminist responses to ARTs in the last several decades.
Gay Becker
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520224308
- eISBN:
- 9780520925243
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520224308.003.0010
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Medical Anthropology
This chapter explores the new reproductive technologies that emphasize transformation, and, in doing so, naturalize technology. They allow people to view embryos and fetuses as children. As couples ...
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This chapter explores the new reproductive technologies that emphasize transformation, and, in doing so, naturalize technology. They allow people to view embryos and fetuses as children. As couples become immersed in a complex process, the embryos become children who are part of them. The specific attributes of new reproductive technologies contribute to the embodiment of embryos. Two key components associated with these technologies are visualization, as in the use of ultrasound and other technologies that reveal what was previously invisible, and ritual. These phenomena imbue the process with cultural meaning, enabling embryos to become embodied by bridging what happens inside and outside the body and making it more accessible, experientially, to women. The ability to visualize aspects of medical procedures has altered the experience of infertility treatment.Less
This chapter explores the new reproductive technologies that emphasize transformation, and, in doing so, naturalize technology. They allow people to view embryos and fetuses as children. As couples become immersed in a complex process, the embryos become children who are part of them. The specific attributes of new reproductive technologies contribute to the embodiment of embryos. Two key components associated with these technologies are visualization, as in the use of ultrasound and other technologies that reveal what was previously invisible, and ritual. These phenomena imbue the process with cultural meaning, enabling embryos to become embodied by bridging what happens inside and outside the body and making it more accessible, experientially, to women. The ability to visualize aspects of medical procedures has altered the experience of infertility treatment.
I. Glenn Cohen
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199975099
- eISBN:
- 9780190205522
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199975099.003.0009
- Subject:
- Law, Medical Law
This chapter examines “fertility tourism”—individuals who travel abroad to use reproductive technologies such as artificial insemination, surrogacy, sex selection, etc. Some travel for price, others ...
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This chapter examines “fertility tourism”—individuals who travel abroad to use reproductive technologies such as artificial insemination, surrogacy, sex selection, etc. Some travel for price, others to circumvent restrictions in their home country. The first part of this chapter sketches what we know about the current flow of patients, doctors, surrogates, and egg and sperm donors in the trade. The next part examines under what circumstances home countries that prohibit particular reproductive technologies from being used by their citizens in the home country should extend that prohibition to those who go to a country where the practice is legal. Among other things, the chapter discusses the question of whether fertility tourism involving surrogacy is a morally problematic form of exploitation and whether that analysis also mandates extending the prohibition extraterritorially. The third part of this chapter examines the question of nationality and immigration for the children born through fertility tourism.Less
This chapter examines “fertility tourism”—individuals who travel abroad to use reproductive technologies such as artificial insemination, surrogacy, sex selection, etc. Some travel for price, others to circumvent restrictions in their home country. The first part of this chapter sketches what we know about the current flow of patients, doctors, surrogates, and egg and sperm donors in the trade. The next part examines under what circumstances home countries that prohibit particular reproductive technologies from being used by their citizens in the home country should extend that prohibition to those who go to a country where the practice is legal. Among other things, the chapter discusses the question of whether fertility tourism involving surrogacy is a morally problematic form of exploitation and whether that analysis also mandates extending the prohibition extraterritorially. The third part of this chapter examines the question of nationality and immigration for the children born through fertility tourism.
Jennifer M. Denbow
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781479828838
- eISBN:
- 9781479808977
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479828838.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
The introduction makes the case that heightened social concern about reproductive decisions has coincided with an increased ability to manage reproduction. Reproductive technology has facilitated the ...
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The introduction makes the case that heightened social concern about reproductive decisions has coincided with an increased ability to manage reproduction. Reproductive technology has facilitated the increased management and control of procreation. Such an increase in the ability to make choices and manage oneself has enabled increased external surveillance and governance of the self. Additionally, the introduction explains the two understandings of autonomy—as proper self-governance and as critique and transformation—on which the subsequent analysis relies. It also explores some of the key critiques of autonomy in feminist theory and poststructuralism, and argues that these critiques apply to the tradition of autonomy as proper self-governance, but not to the tradition of autonomy as critique and transformation. The introduction also provides an overview of the central contributions of the book, as well as an outline of its structure.Less
The introduction makes the case that heightened social concern about reproductive decisions has coincided with an increased ability to manage reproduction. Reproductive technology has facilitated the increased management and control of procreation. Such an increase in the ability to make choices and manage oneself has enabled increased external surveillance and governance of the self. Additionally, the introduction explains the two understandings of autonomy—as proper self-governance and as critique and transformation—on which the subsequent analysis relies. It also explores some of the key critiques of autonomy in feminist theory and poststructuralism, and argues that these critiques apply to the tradition of autonomy as proper self-governance, but not to the tradition of autonomy as critique and transformation. The introduction also provides an overview of the central contributions of the book, as well as an outline of its structure.
