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THE POLITICS OF REPRODUCTION: THE TROUBLING CASE OF NADYA SULEMAN AND ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY [*]
Author(s) -
Davis DanaAin
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
transforming anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.325
H-Index - 9
eISSN - 1548-7466
pISSN - 1051-0559
DOI - 10.1111/j.1548-7466.2009.01061.x
Subject(s) - reproduction , mainstream , politics , reification (marxism) , gender studies , silence , reproductive technology , sociology , reproductive rights , reproductive justice , political science , reproductive health , demography , biology , ecology , abortion , aesthetics , law , art , pregnancy , embryo , population , genetics , embryogenesis , microbiology and biotechnology
On January 26, 2009, Nadya Suleman gave birth to the nation's second set of octuplets. Over the course of 30 days Ms. Suleman became the subject of outrage and outrageous representations over her choice to have in vitro fertilization since she already had six children. Embedded in Suleman's public construction and representations are subtle transcripts of race, class, and reproduction. This article examines these intersections as they relate to stratified reproduction, neoliberal reification of choice in the reproductive marketplace and the silence of mainstream reproductive rights groups in challenging the discourse surrounding Suleman. This discourse is similar to that which has historically been used to justify restricting the reproductive trajectories of women of color, poor and low‐income women.