Gendered Ethics of Reproductive Time: Science, Technology and the Market (ReproTime)

New assisted reproductive technologies (ART), the commercialisation of healthcare, and the expansion of biotechnological and pharmaceutical enterprises are changing the temporal logics of reproduction. For example, new companies offer oocyte cryopreservation enabling ever older motherhood. Bringing together social science and bioethics, this project is concerned with the gendered ways in which such temporal changes are evaluated ethically. The study covers three technological practices: reproductive tissue donation, cryopreservation, and health-data-driven artificial intelligence and machine learning. The ethnographic data consists of video recordings, observations, interviews and documents collected in fertility clinics, research institutions and healthcare companies. The project contributes to feminist social scientific and bioethics debates about ARTs, healthcare and markets. It also has political and clinical significance by providing knowledge for professionals and policymakers.