Udlandet tur-retur. Sådan får man også børn

GOING ABROAD AND BACK | How do Danish women negotiate egg donation when it involves travelling to clinics in Spain or the Czech Republic? This article employs anthropological and sociological feminist literature on assisted reproductive tech nologies and transnational reproduction to understand the dynamics at play when Danish women travel to Spain or the Czech Republic foregg donation. The empirical material includes interviews with Danish women who are either planning to travel or who have already travelled for egg donation. The essay suggests that Danish women employ conventional understandings of both femininity and nationalized discourses. They mediate their border crossings not only as a type of gifting but also as a particular type of transnational service. Fertility travel is naturalized, in these discourses in light of the interviewees’ desire to become mothers and, in the process, re-positioning transnational egg donation as a form of global sisterhood

Udlandet tur-retur. Sådan får man også børn

GOING ABROAD AND BACK | How do Danish women negotiate egg donation when it involves travelling to clinics in Spain or the Czech Republic? This article employs anthropological and sociological feminist literature on assisted reproductive tech nologies and transnational reproduction to understand the dynamics at play when Danish women travel to Spain or the Czech Republic foregg donation. The empirical material includes interviews with Danish women who are either planning to travel or who have already travelled for egg donation. The essay suggests that Danish women employ conventional understandings of both femininity and nationalized discourses. They mediate their border crossings not only as a type of gifting but also as a particular type of transnational service. Fertility travel is naturalized, in these discourses in light of the interviewees’ desire to become mothers and, in the process, re-positioning transnational egg donation as a form of global sisterhood

Moderskab(elser) - Slægtsskabsøkonomier og moderfølelser i transnational surrogatmoderskab

Today the making of families has gone global and may involve some sort of border crossing. In this essay, we discuss the ways that transnational surrogacy is constructed in two international and well-known documentaries Google Baby (Frank 2009) and Made in India (Haimowitz and Sinha 2010). Both films employ a neoliberal ideology and frame reproduction as a do-it-yourself project in which mobile and globalized homosexual and heterosexual couples from the West go to India to fulfill their desire for parenting. We suggest that affect theoretical perspectives assist in developing nuanced analyses of the ways that reproductive desire and despair circulate to make transnational surrogacy seem like a natural choice. We conclude that parenthood, in the two documentaries, is constructed along matters of intent and desire

Moderskab(elser) - Slægtsskabsøkonomier og moderfølelser i transnational surrogatmoderskab

Today the making of families has gone global and may involve some sort of border crossing. In this essay, we discuss the ways that transnational surrogacy is constructed in two international and well-known documentaries Google Baby (Frank 2009) and Made in India (Haimowitz and Sinha 2010). Both films employ a neoliberal ideology and frame reproduction as a do-it-yourself project in which mobile and globalized homosexual and heterosexual couples from the West go to India to fulfill their desire for parenting. We suggest that affect theoretical perspectives assist in developing nuanced analyses of the ways that reproductive desire and despair circulate to make transnational surrogacy seem like a natural choice. We conclude that parenthood, in the two documentaries, is constructed along matters of intent and desire

Migrant extractability: Centring the voices of egg providers in cross-border reproduction

© 2018 This paper explores reproductive justice from the perspective of those at the beginning of the value chain of reproduction. This vantage point of egg providers can help lend important insights into the wider processes of family-making across borders today. It centres on ethnographic research conducted on contemporary cross-border egg provision performed by female migrant workers in Spain. Through this intersectional perspective, we stand to gain deeper insights into cross-border reproduction more widely. Egg provision can be a way for migrant women to gain temporary financial benefit. In a system that does not provide equal access for migrants to work and care, female migrants make themselves extractable commodities. As such, they are both a commodity and a worker at the same time. The example of female migrant workers providing eggs can be used to reflect more generally on egg provision, and on cross-border reproduction and reproductive justice models as used in queer cross-border family-building. Taken within the broader framework of reproductive justice, and with the struggles of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender cross-border reproduction in mind, the paper begins by asking how three intersecting inequalities due to (1) migration/citizenship, (2) joblessness/contract working and (3) race facilitate the industry of cross-border reproduction? In what ways do female migrant workers mobilize their reproductive potential, including time, whiteness, other racial/phenotypic similarity to commissioning parents, and unstable work lives in cross-border egg donation? The paper ends with an argument for focusing analytical and political attention on the needs of those providing eggs; the most prized material resources for cross-border reproduction

The Conservation of Native Domestic Animal Breeds in Nordic Countries: From Genetic Resources to Cultural Heritage and Good Governance

Native breeds are domestic animal populations that have adapted to their habitats. The genetic value of breeds has been known for a long time, and recently more attention has been paid to their cultural value. Due to both ecological and cultural significance, it is important that native breeds continue to be bred in their native environments. This is supported by various financial support schemes. Support schemes rarely cover the financial gap in output compared to commercial breeds. A solution to this has been sought in special products, such as cheese or wool, and other businesses, such as animal-assisted care and tourism. Less attention has been paid to the role of administration and good governance in the maintenance of native breeds. In this study, a questionnaire was sent to all registered keepers of native breeds in Finland. This survey clarified their reasons for keeping native breeds and their ideas for improving governance structures and practices. The results were discussed in stakeholder workshops, and in a Nordic context. The results show that genetic and cultural values are recognised in several documents and programmes, but farmers need to be engaged more in the design of support schemes and practices.</p

Why do women seek ultrasound scans from commercial providers during pregnancy?

The commercial availability of ultrasound scans for pregnant women has been controversial yet little is known about why women make use of such services. This article reports on semi-structured interviews with women in the UK who have booked a commercial scan, focusing on the reasons women gave for booking commercially provided ultrasound during a low-risk pregnancy. Participants’ reasons for booking a scan are presented in five categories: finding out the sex of the foetus; reassurance; seeing the baby; acquiring keepsakes and facilitating bonding. Our analysis demonstrates that women's reasons for booking commercial scans are often multiple and are shaped by experiences of antenatal care as well as powerful cultural discourses related to ‘good’ parenting and the use of technology in pregnancy. Sociological and public debate about the availability of commercial ultrasound and its social and personal impacts should consider the wider sociocultural context that structures women's choices to make use of such services

Psychological and ethical issues in third party assisted conception and surrogate motherhood

The continuing increase in babies born via third party assisted conception (AC) and surrogate motherhood across the world shows the success of and medical and social demand for third party interventions in family building. However, with the increasing use of such interventions world-wide, commercialisation and commodification have proliferated. This in turn has led to inequality in access to AC services, in choice of third party input, and in questionable human rights and psychosocial welfare issues. Transitioning to parenthood using third party AC and surrogate motherhood, in addition to requiring equality in access, also demand accuracy of birth and genetic information. In the absence of accurate record keeping, continuing practices of anonymity, and marginalization of the contribution of donors and surrogates, psychological, social, health and ethical questions are raised for donors, recipients and potentially for (genetic, gestational) part, half and full offspring, siblings and others in the extended family such as grandparents