This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Kirejczyk, M. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

On Women, Egg Cells and Embryos

Gender in the Regulatory Debates on Embryonic Research in the Netherlands

UNIVERSITY OF TWENTE, m.kirejczyk{at}utwente.nl

In contrast to many countries, the political debates in the Netherlands on reproductive technologies and embryo research have paid particular attention to the issue of health risks to women. This article focuses on the question to what extent the discourse of gender has contributed to shaping the space for embryonic (stem cell) research in this country. The author argues that in the policy arena flexible conceptualizations of risks and burdens to women and of the identities of embryos have been crucial in drawing and maintaining a discursive boundary between the domains of medically assisted reproduction and embryo research. The author shows that feminist intervention challenging this discursive strategy has had an impact on the present regulation of research. However, the main weakness of this temporary and partial feminist success is the virtual absence of a public debate on the meaning and desirability of embryo research.

Key Words: egg donation • embryo research • feminism • gender • health risks • public debates • regulation

European Journal of Women's Studies, Vol. 15, No. 4, 377-391 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1350506808095295


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?