Assisted Reproductive Justice

The complexities and contradictions of the fertility industry through a reproductive justice lens.

With the proliferation of assisted reproductive technologies, the fertility industry—from in vitro fertilization to egg freezing and sperm donation—is booming. But these practices raise concerns about potential dangers and the social, economic, and racial inequalities they reinforce.

In Assisted Reproductive Justice, Camisha Russell and Kimberly Mutcherson neither indict nor validate the fertility industry. Instead, they examine its complexities and contradictions, untangling the threads of inequality and opportunity woven into its complex global networks. 

Using reproductive justice theory as a critical lens, the book conducts a broad, interdisciplinary analysis of the history, social and legal policies, and ethics surrounding assisted reproduction. The authors use compelling case studies to illuminate issues of who gets access and why and how technology is used. More importantly, they explain how these issues can and should guide law and policymaking toward a more just fertility industry.

Camisha Russell is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oregon and author of The Assisted Reproduction of Race.

Kimberly Mutcherson is Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School in Camden, New Jersey, and editor of Feminist Judgments: Reproductive Justice Rewritten.

Contents
 

Acknowledgments
 

Introduction

1. Race (and Inequality) in the Fertility Industry

2. The Other Side of the Coin

3. Ideal Families and Familiar Ideologies

4. The Right to Procreate

5. What Might Justice Require?

Conclusion: From Silence to Solidarity: Donor-Conceived Children and Reproductive Justice         

Appendix

Notes

Bibliography

Index