Cultural and Normative Imaginaries in Parliamentary and Public Debates on Social Egg Freezing in Denmark

TY - ABST

T1 - Cultural and Normative Imaginaries in Parliamentary and Public Debates on Social Egg Freezing in Denmark

AU - Herrmann, Janne Rothmar

AU - Kroløkke, Charlotte

PY - 2017/9

Y1 - 2017/9

N2 - Widely known as a global exporter of cryopreserved sperm, Danish women’s eggs follow verydifferent trajectories. This paper identifies the cultural and normative imaginaries, which areexpressed in parliamentary and public debates on social egg freezing in Denmark. We use theconcept of sociotechnical imaginaries (Jasanoff, 2015) to demonstrate how imaginaries are notmerely hoped-for-futures but also embedded within the nexus of cultural, legal, and politicalmilieus. To expound on what imaginaries has shaped the Danish regulation on the cryopreservationof eggs, we trace the bills, their three readings in Parliament and the concurrent public and ethicaldebates that in time relaxed the legal limit for the cryopreservation of eggs from the initial proposed1 year limit to the current 5 years and today ignite discussions on elective egg freezing. We thendiscuss how those imaginaries differ or are consistent with the general perception in law,parliamentary, and public debate. Relying on welfare state theory, we discuss why reproduction inthe Danish context is seen as a legitimate and appropriate sphere to regulate, while we turn tofeminist theorizing to discuss their gendered implications

AB - Widely known as a global exporter of cryopreserved sperm, Danish women’s eggs follow verydifferent trajectories. This paper identifies the cultural and normative imaginaries, which areexpressed in parliamentary and public debates on social egg freezing in Denmark. We use theconcept of sociotechnical imaginaries (Jasanoff, 2015) to demonstrate how imaginaries are notmerely hoped-for-futures but also embedded within the nexus of cultural, legal, and politicalmilieus. To expound on what imaginaries has shaped the Danish regulation on the cryopreservationof eggs, we trace the bills, their three readings in Parliament and the concurrent public and ethicaldebates that in time relaxed the legal limit for the cryopreservation of eggs from the initial proposed1 year limit to the current 5 years and today ignite discussions on elective egg freezing. We thendiscuss how those imaginaries differ or are consistent with the general perception in law,parliamentary, and public debate. Relying on welfare state theory, we discuss why reproduction inthe Danish context is seen as a legitimate and appropriate sphere to regulate, while we turn tofeminist theorizing to discuss their gendered implications

M3 - Conference abstract for conference

T2 - Frozen: Social and Bioethical Aspects of Cryo-Fertility

Y2 - 1 October 2017 through 4 October 2017

ER -