Assisted Reproductive Technologies
Abstract
In 1978 in vitro fertilization (IVF) was introduced in England to overcome the problem of infertility. In the nearly four decades since then, many other assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) have been developed. Some are simple variants of IVF, while others are complex innovations, involving related fields such as human genetics. As ARTs have evolved over time, they have also traveled widely, leading to the birth of 5 million babies around the globe. Yet, ongoing problems of ART access have led to a low-cost IVF movement. ARTs have also had profound impacts on gender, kinship, and family life, especially as third parties (egg and sperm donors, gestational surrogates) and cryopreservation (freezing) have been employed to facilitate conception. Diverse moral and religious responses to these ART innovations have led to increasing regulation. Medical anthropologists have studied all of these issues, showing how ARTs are a key symbol of our changing times.