Prenatal Genetic Technologies and the Social Control of Pregnant Women: A Review of the Key Issues

Abstract

This article provides a review of literature of articles and texts on prenatal genetic technologies and is limited specifically to research that focuses on the intersection between the dynamics of prenatal screening; the regulation of family life and reproduction; the issues of disabilities, risk, and shame; embodied affect; and contemporary molecular medicine. Three themes emerge from the literature: the fact that these technologies have a transformative impact on the social process of human reproduction, are powerful ways of regulating family normality and health, and have the unintended consequence of dividing women into “good” and “bad” reproducers. It is argued that in reviewing the literature it is important to take a critical focus to expose some of the repressive dynamics embedded in the diffusion and proliferation of these technologies.