Fertility holidays : IVF tourism and the reproduction of whiteness

Each Year, More And More Americans Travel Out Of The Country Seeking Low Cost Medical Treatments Abroad, Including Fertility Treatments Such As In Vitro Fertilization (ivf). As The Lower Middle Classes Of The United States Have Been Priced Out Of An Expensive Privatized ?baby Business,? The Czech Republic Has Emerged As A Central Hub Of Fertility Tourism, Offering A Plentitude Of Blonde-haired, Blue-eyed Egg Donors At A Fraction Of The Price. Fertility Holidays Presents A Critical Analysis Of White, Working Class North Americans? Motivations And Experiences When Traveling To Central Europe For Donor Egg Ivf. Within This Diaspora, Patients Become Consumers, Urged On By The Representation Of A White Europe And An Empathetic Health Care System, Which Seems Nonexistent At Home. As The Volume Traces These American Fertility Journeys Halfway Around The World, It Uncovers Layers Of Contradiction Embedded In Global Reproductive Medicine. Speier Reveals The Extent To Which Reproductive Travel Heightens The Hope Ingrained In Reproductive Technologies, Especially When The Procedures Are Framed As ?holidays.? The Pitch Of Combining A Vacation With Their Treatment Promises Couples A Stress-free Ivf Cycle; Yet, In Truth, They May Become Tangled In Fraught Situations As They Endure An Emotionally Wrought Cycle Of Ivf In A Strange Place. Offering An Intimate, First-hand Account Of North Americans Journeys To The Czech Republic For Ivf, Fertility Holidays Exposes Reproductive Travel As A Form Of Consumption Which Is Motivated By Complex Layers Of Desire For White Babies, A European Vacation, Better Health Care, And Technological Success. --publisher Description. From Hope To Alienation : North Americans Enter The Baby Business -- Virtual Communities And Markets -- Intimate Labor Within Czech Clinics -- Contradictions Of Fertility Holidays -- Separate But Connected Paths -- Conclusion : An Eye To The Future. Amy Speier. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. A critical analysis of white, working class North Americans motivations and experiences when traveling to Central Europe for donor egg IVF Each year, more and more Americans travel out of the country seeking low cost medical treatments abroad, including fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization (IVF). As the lower middle classes of the United States have been priced out of an expensive privatized baby business, the Czech Republic has emerged as a central hub of fertility tourism, offering a plentitude of blonde-haired, blue-eyed egg donors at a fraction of the price. Fertility Holidays presents a critical analysis of white, working class North Americans motivations and experiences when traveling to Central Europe for donor egg IVF. Within this diaspora, patients become consumers, urged on by the representation of a white Europe and an empathetic health care system, which seems nonexistent at home. As the volume traces these American fertility journeys halfway around the world, it uncovers layers of contradiction embedded in global reproductive medicine. Speier reveals the extent to which reproductive travel heightens the hope ingrained in reproductive technologies, especially when the procedures are framed as holidays. The pitch of combining a vacation with their treatment promises couples a stress-free IVF cycle; yet, in truth, they may become tangled in fraught situations as they endure an emotionally wrought cycle of IVF in a strange place. Offering an intimate, first-hand account of North Americans journeys to the Czech Republic for IVF, Fertility Holidays exposes reproductive travel as a form of consumption which is motivated by complex layers of desire for white babies, a European vacation, better health care, and technological success. Each year Americans travel out of the country seeking low cost medical treatments abroad, including fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization. As the lower middle classes of the United States have been priced out of an expensive privatized "baby business," the Czech Republic has emerged as a central hub of fertility tourism, offering a plentitude of blonde-haired, blue-eyed egg donors at a fraction of the price. This book presents an analysis of white, working class North Americans' motivations and experiences when traveling to Central Europe for donor egg IVF. Patients become consumers, urged on by the representation of a white Europe and an empathetic health care system, which seems nonexistent at home Cover 1 FERTILITY HOLIDAYS 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 CONTENTS 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction 14 1. From Hope to Alienation: North Americans Enter the Baby Business 30 2. Virtual Communities and Markets 54 3. Intimate Labor within Czech Clinics 76 4. Contradictions of Fertility Holidays 114 5. Separate but Connected Paths 131 Conclusion: An Eye to the Future 156 Notes 164 Bibliography 166 Index 176 About the Author 180 Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1. From Hope to Alienation: North Americans Enter the Baby Business 17 2. Virtual Communities and Markets 41 3. Intimate Labor within Czech Clinics 63 4. Contradictions of Fertility Holidays 101 5. Separate but Connected Paths 118 Conclusion: An Eye to the Future 143 Notes 151 Bibliography 153 Index 163 About the Author 167