Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The new reproductive technologies constitute a broad constellation of technologies aimed at facilitating, preventing, or otherwise intervening in the process of reproduction. This includes, for example, contraception, abortion, antenatal testing, birth technologies, and conceptive technologies. These interventions focus predominantly, although not exclusively, on the female body and, with some notable exceptions (e.g., a privately arranged and implemented donor insemination), operate within the medical domain. The description of these technologies as “new” is contested, particularly by some feminists who have argued that they are simply part of a long history of attempts to control women's bodies ( Klein 1987 ). However, others have highlighted the extent to which the new reproductive technologies are both produced by, and productive of, contemporary biomedicine, and that women are not simply passive recipients or victims of those technologies but are actively involved in their production (Saetnan et al. 2000). The new reproductive technologies constitute a highly controversial and contested site. One of the key areas of debate is in relation to the disputed “life” status of embryos and foetuses. These debates lie at the heart of attempts to draw ethical, moral, and legal boundaries around the conditions under which women are allowed to terminate pregnancies. Imaging and antenatal ... log in or subscribe to read full text