Charis Thompson
Making Parents The Ontological Choreography of Reproductive Technologies
Making Parents
Inside Technology edited by Wiebe E. Bijker, W. Bernard Carlson, and Trevor Pinch A list of books in this series appears at the back of the book.
Making Parents The Ontological Choreography of Reproductive Technologies
Charis Thompson
The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England
( 2005 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. MIT Press books may be purchased at special quantity discounts for business or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail
[email protected] mitpress.mit.edui or write to Special Sales Department, The MIT Press, 5 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142. This book was set in New Baskerville on 3B2 by Asco Typesetters, Hong Kong. Printed and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Thompson, Charis Making parents : the ontological choreography of reproductive technologies / Charis Thompson. p. cm. — (Inside technology) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-262-20156-9 (hc. : alk. paper) 1. Human reproductive technology—United States—History. 2. Human reproductive technology—Social aspects—United States. 3. Human reproductive technology—Philosophy. I. Title. II. Series. RG133.5.T495 2005 616.60 9206—dc22 2004062112
For John and for Thomas, Jessica, and Charlotte
Contents
Acknowledgments
ix
Introduction: Making Parents: Selective Pronatalism, Ontological Choreography, a Biomedical Mode of Reproduction, Methods, Reading This Book, and Where I Stand 1
I Disciplinary Stakes
1 Science and Society: Some Varieties of Science and Technology Studies
2 Fertile Ground: Feminists T