Between Families and Frankenstein : The Politics of Egg Donation in the United States

In this book, I undertake the first comprehensive theoretical and empirical analysis of the politics of the “wild west” of egg donation in the United States. If egg donation is so publicly recognizable and evokes such social interest, why does the U.S. system fail to regulate it? This book challenges conventional thinking around egg donation politics, exploring answers to __how__ egg donation is defined, debated, and regulated in the United States, as well as exploring the logic of __why__ the U.S. system of politics is organized the way it is around egg donation. Building upon theories of normative femininity in reproduction and scientific research, this book examines the relationships between subnational politics and policy in contemporary egg donation. I use three interdisciplinary areas of inquiry—policy framing, body politics and morality politics, and representation by gender and political party to answer long-standing questions about egg donation and politics in the fields of women’s and gender studies, political science and policy studies, and bioethics. Employing case studies, qualitative narrative analysis, and quantitative public-policy analyses of an original data set of over eight hundred state-level public policies around egg donation, this book clarifies the ways that gender, race, and class, as well as political institutions and actors, create systems of egg donation politics and regulation, particularly at the subnational level. In The United States, Egg Donation For Reproduction And Egg Donation For Research Involve The Same Procedures, The Same Risks, And The Same Population Of Donors--disadvantaged Women At The Intersections Of Race And Class. Yet Cultural Attitudes And State-level Policies Regarding Egg Donation Are Dramatically Different Depending On Whether The Donation Is For Reproduction Or For Research. Erin Heidt-forsythe Explores The Ways That Framing Egg Donation Itself Creates Diverse Politics In The United States, Which, Unlike Other Western Democracies, Has No Centralized Method Of Regulating Donations, Relying Instead On Market Forces And State Legislatures To Regulate Egg Donation And Reproductive Technologies. Beginning With A History Of Scientific Research Around The Human Egg, The Book Connects Historical Debates About The Natural (reproduction) And Unnatural (research) Uses Of Women's Eggs To Contemporary Political Regulation Of Egg Donation. Examining Egg Donation In California, New York, Arizona, And Louisiana And Coupled With Original Data On How Egg Donation Has Been Regulated Over The Last Twenty Years, This Book Is The First Comprehensive Overview And Analysis Of The Politics Of Egg Donation Across The United States--provided By Publisher. Dream Or Nightmare? : Theories And Histories Of Egg Donation In The Us -- Framing Egg Donation At The State Level -- State Craft Is Always Soul Craft : Egg Donation Politics In Four States -- Towards A New Gendered Partisanship : Egg Donation Politics In The States. Erin Heidt-forsythe. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. In the United States, egg donation for reproduction and egg donation for research involve the same procedures, the same risks, and the same population of donors—disadvantaged women at the intersections of race and class. Yet cultural attitudes and state-level policies regarding egg donation are dramatically different depending on whether the donation is for reproduction or for research. Erin Heidt-Forsythe explores the ways that framing egg donation itself creates diverse politics in the United States, which, unlike other Western democracies, has no centralized method of regulating donations, relying instead on market forces and state legislatures to regulate egg donation and reproductive technologies.
 
Beginning with a history of scientific research around the human egg, the book connects historical debates about the “natural” (reproduction) and “unnatural” (research) uses of women’s eggs to contemporary political regulation of egg donation. Examining egg donation in California, New York, Arizona, and Louisiana and coupled with original data on how egg donation has been regulated over the last twenty years, this book is the first comprehensive overview and analysis of the politics of egg donation across the United States. In this text, I undertake the first comprehensive theoretical and empirical analysis of the politics of the 'wild west' of egg donation in the United States. If egg donation is so publicly recognizable and evokes such social interest, why does the US system fail to regulate it? This work challenges conventional thinking around egg donation politics, exploring answers to how egg donation is defined, debated, and regulated in the United States, as well as exploring the logic of why the US system of politics is organized the way it is around egg donation Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Dream or Nightmare? Theories and Histories of Egg Donation in the United States 2. Framing Egg Donation at the State Level 3. Statecraft Is Always Soul Craft: Egg Donation Politics in Four States 4. Toward a New Gendered Partisanship: Egg Donation Politics in the States Conclusion Appendix 1. Medical and Psychological Practices and Risks of Egg Donation Appendix 2. Measures in Chapter 4 Appendix 3. Data Collection of Egg Donation Bills, 1995–2010 Notes Works Cited Index