Wahlberg, A. and Gammeltoft, T. (eds) Selective Reproduction in the 21st Century. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 2018. 198pp £72.00 (hbk) ISBN 978‐3‐319‐58219‐1.

Abstract

Wahlberg and Gammeltoft's interest in the routinisation of reproductive technologies across the globe provided the basis for a prolific collaboration among scholars working in the area, resulting in the publication of Selective Reproduction in the 21st Century, a collection of ethnographic studies addressing the use of selective reproduction in different cultural, socio-economic and regulatory contexts. Defining selective reproduction as ‘practices that aim to prevent or promote the birth of particular kinds of children’ (p. 1), Wahlberg and Gammeltoft argue that the biomedical developments of the last 40 years, and the increasing availability of selective reproductive technologies (SRTs), ‘have separated reproduction from sex as well as genetics from gestation’ (p. 1). Rather than acting as a ‘helping hand’ as in the case of assisted reproduction, SRTs become a ‘guiding hand’, conceptualised as ‘a vote of no confidence against nature’ (p. 6). The collection is divided in three parts according to the purpose of selective reproduction: sex selection (chapters 2 and 3), prevention of disease and disability (chapters 4, 5, 6), and selection of traits (chapters 7 and 8). In chapter 2, Hang's ethnographic study of sex-selective abortions in Vietnam provides insight into the emotional experiences of 35 women before, during and after the abortion of female foetuses, a practice linked to cultural notions of son preference in this context. In chapter 3, Bhatia is concerned with what she terms ‘lifestyle sex selection’, that is, sex selection before pregnancy via preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and via MicroSort, a technique sorting sperm based on the chromosomes determining sex to be used with intrauterine insemination or IVF. Providing the historical framework within which these technologies developed in the United States and the United Kingdom, Bhatia analyses the interplay between scientific developments, politics, and ethics. In chapter 4, Heinsen engages with prenatal screening in Denmark, analysing the position of Danish pregnant women as ‘moral adherers’ of SRTs. Chapter 5 draws on Shih's research with Taiwanese women and couples, exploring the inextricable link between prenatal screening and testing and the cultural notion of ‘moral bearing’, and its translation as the prospective mothers’ responsibility to not bring a disabled child to society. Pavone and Lafuente Funes, in chapter 6, examine women's experiences of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and pre-implantation genetic screening, across Spain, as a means to either overcome infertility or to avoid the transmission of hereditary disease. In chapter 7, Martin draws on her fieldwork in ‘fertility industry’ sites in the United States, where the use of third-party eggs is commercial, to illustrate how egg providers are recruited and managed as a marketing device for intending parents who desire children of specific racial-ethnic backgrounds or with particular physical and personality traits. In the last chapter of the collection, Stockey-Bridge explores the emotional investment of heterosexual and non-heterosexual Australian couples during the selection of egg donors and surrogates in the framework of commercial arrangements in India, and provides valuable insight into their decision-making processes. The collection makes a significant contribution to the growing literature of human reproduction in general and the interplay between reproduction, technology, and society in particular. The introduction provides a very useful overview of different SRTs and the important milestones that led to their development. Through the rich ethnographic accounts presented, the collection enhances our understanding of the accessibility of SRTs within diverse contexts, provides an in-depth look into the interpretations, decision-making, and the experiences of the people who engage with them, and generates thought-provoking questions on ethical considerations. In the Introduction, Wahlberg and Gammeltoft state that selective reproduction can be empirically examined through the technique(s) used (e.g. egg harvesting, sperm sorting, PGD, ultrasound screening, carrier testing), the sites where selective reproduction takes place (e.g. IVF clinics, prenatal care units, egg agencies), the people who engage with SRTs (prospective parents, practitioners and policy makers), as well as through the relevant legislation and guidelines. While the collection is indeed successful in bringing together the four empirical routes to the study of selective reproduction, the diversity of perspectives tackled could be argued to constitute the collection's major weakness. The reader becomes obliged to mentally ‘jump’ from women's (and generally users’) experiences to biomedical developments, and from laws and regulations to marketing strategies employed by commercial fertility hubs. In this respect, I found the book's structure somewhat challenging to follow. Nonetheless, the rich and complex insights of selective reproduction presented in the collection opens up new horizons for the understanding of contemporary selective reproduction practices around the world. A stimulating collection, Selective Reproduction in the 21st Century breaks new ground and leads to the development of further questions to be answered about current practices. Social scientists working in the areas of human reproduction, science and technology studies, health and illness, gender, and family and kinship studies, will find the book eye-opening.