Rufaro Moyo
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The resurgence of eugenics through egg donation in South Africa
Race as a central and ‘obvious’ choice
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Despite the Human Genome Project in 2000 discovering that there is no hereditary distinction between races, the naturalised bio-centric conception of race continues to pervade society. One such area where this happens is during the egg donation process, which is a part of the growing industry of assisted reproductive technologies. This chapter argues that the role race plays in the egg donor selection process is central. Both recipients and donor agents employ racial categories in order to find an egg donor that racially matches the patient, which is the phenomenon of racial-matching. This phenomenon, the chapter argues, is a process of neo-eugenics. Whilst many think of ‘better birth’ at the mention of the term eugenics, this chapter makes the argument that racial matching mimics eugenic practices of maintaining the myth of racial purity. Donor agents speak of an ‘obviousness’ of the use of racial categories, naturalising race as biological and seemingly legitimising hegemonic notions of the family. The egg donor selection process conceals the power dynamics it perpetuates in the discourse of resemblance. Assisted reproductive technologies have brought treatment and hope to those struggling with infertility and indicate the advancement of science and technology within the health sector. However, the persisting power dynamics surrounding race and desirability have come to manifest themselves within these technologies, indicating that as time changes, the discourse within medicine and science shifts itself to accommodate the politics of the time.

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Birth controlled

Selective reproduction and neoliberal eugenics in South Africa and India

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