Paper short abstract:

This paper aims to analyse the effects of people circulation on the access to assisted reproductive technologies, namely in terms of individual autonomy and state sovereignty. It does so by addressing issues such as social inequalities, national disparities and the current trends in family structure as well as the commoditization of both the human body and the exchange of biogenetic substances.

Paper long abstract:

This paper aims to analyse the effects of people circulation on reproductive practices. The creation of the European Union and the Schengen Area, with the contemporary erosion of national borders control has eliminated or, at least, weakened the obstacles to individual mobility. European states have different legislation and ethical principles concerning assisted conception, allowing some technical procedures while criminalizing others. Moreover, we face the emergence of new trends in what regards family configurations, such as same sex couples or single parents. The combination of these three factors creates new phenomena that challenge both the health status of the reproductive body, and the sovereignty of countries as far as the regulation of medically assisted procreative technologies and the safety of individual citizen are concerned. In fact, couples or individuals travel in order to evade restrictive legislation in their own country, sometimes submitting themselves to more precarious healthcare. At the same time, socioeconomic inequalities and the market economy principles, applied to the private sphere, leads to the commodification of the individual body and of human life, in which the commercialization of gametes and the payment for surrogacy are only two examples. This implies the consideration both of the minority claims and the majority views. In other words, it means a balance between individual autonomy - namely what concerns the freedom to organize and program their own reproductive life - and the social control of Biomedicine procedures and personal life trajectories. Building upon my post-doctoral research, I will approach this problem theoretically and through data analysis (ethical committees' reports, legislation, media articles).