The Biopolitics of Prenatal Diagnosis

This article critically examines the definition of “health” in Western epistemology and its link to the use and development of prenatal testing. Biopolitics and biocapital are explored when discussing the malleability of the definition of “health.” This article argues that the equation of “health” with able and productive bodies is naturalized in society and seen as stagnant because of a scientific claim to detached objectivity. This article suggests that this definition of “health” aids in creating, reproducing and supporting a capitalist, neoliberal governmental regime in Canada by focusing on the productivity of bodies, which fosters some lives and hinders others. This article considers the effect this definition of “health” has on the public and questions why prenatal diagnosis continues to gain so much popularity. Importantly, it questions who this technology benefits.