Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Women as body parts in the era of reproductive and genetic engineering

1991; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 12; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/07399339109515963

1096-4665

Renate Klein,

Sex and Gender in Healthcare

Reproductive and genetic engineering are presented by their promoters as miracle cures for people with infertility problems or who are at genetic risk in having their desired healthy child. Focusing on the test‐tube baby method (in vitro fertilization), in this article I investigate the medical reality of these technologies and their impact on women's lives as individuals and as members of a social group, women. Specifically, I discuss these developments in a global context and suggest that, in connection with fertility‐control methods, they could be used as the ultimate means of population control. I contend that reproductive and genetic engineering dismember, fragment, and dissect women into their body parts and that, in the interests of women with a right to bodily integrity and dignity, they need to be stopped.