A Novel Approach to New Family-Forms, Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Transnationalism. A multi-sited ethnography: Spain, Denmark, Canada and Israel

Introduction

The global assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) market is expected to reach USD 45 billion by 2025, with more than 8 million babies born. Europe dominates the market, followed by North America and Asia.

Access Restrictions

However, more than half of European states and most countries in the Americas and Asia prohibit access to ARTs for solo individuals, same-sex couples, and heterosexual couples who need donated eggs, embryos, or surrogacy. This situation exemplifies contemporary technological transnationalism, as potential parents pursue treatment abroad in hopes of conception.

Transformation of Reproduction

As ARTs spread to populations that have not had access to them before, the question arises: how is reproduction being transformed by technologies and individuals whose sexual and reproductive lives may defy social norms and national laws? Due to biotechnologies and the populations seeking ARTs, a new theoretical framework for cross-border reproductive care is necessary.

Research Aims

The overarching aim is to study the question of ARTs, new family forms, and transnationalism in three ways:

1. Transnational Circulations: Exploring how the transnational circulations of ARTs, bodily material, and ideas take form in three continents: Europe, North America, and the Middle East (multi-sited ethnography).

2. Specific Locations: Analyzing specific locations through an ethnographic approach, examining how technologies, genetic flow, and ideas settle in four countries that are leaders in ARTs and sexual and reproductive health rights (single-site ethnographies): Spain, Denmark, Canada, and Israel.

3. Complex Intersections: Studying the complexity and intersection of the biological, social, politico-legal, and ideological aspects between new family forms and ARTs, and how these intersections shape their experiences.

Unique Positioning

I am uniquely positioned to implement this study due to my pioneering scholarship on ARTs and new family forms from a strong interdisciplinary stance, along with solid experience in managing international teams. This background enables me to bring together divergent empirical contexts for groundbreaking research.