Between Families and Frankenstein: The Politics of Egg Donation in the United States

"Between Families and Frankenstein makes some wonderful contributions to thinking about human eggs and how they are framed in different political and policy contexts. The author’s exploration into gender, politics, public policy and morality provides a fascinating read for feminist scholars, among others." ― Social Forces

In the United States, egg donation for reproduction and egg donation for research involve the same procedures, the same risks, and the same population of donors—disadvantaged women at the intersections of race and class. Yet cultural attitudes and state-level policies regarding egg donation are dramatically different depending on whether the donation is for reproduction or for research. Erin Heidt-Forsythe explores the ways that framing egg donation itself creates diverse politics in the United States, which, unlike other Western democracies, has no centralized method of regulating donations, relying instead on market forces and state legislatures to regulate egg donation and reproductive technologies.
 
Beginning with a history of scientific research around the human egg, the book connects historical debates about the “natural” (reproduction) and “unnatural” (research) uses of women’s eggs to contemporary political regulation of egg donation. Examining egg donation in California, New York, Arizona, and Louisiana and coupled with original data on how egg donation has been regulated over the last twenty years, this book is the first comprehensive overview and analysis of the politics of egg donation across the United States.

"Erin Heidt-Forsythe&;s book is a substantive contribution to the fields of gender and politics, health policy, morality policy and public policy more generally. This timely and accessible book will be useful for a broad audience of scholars, undergraduates, and non-academics. With its focus on egg donation policy in lieu of more commonly studied reproductive health topics, the book is a genuinely novel addition to the gender and reproductive health literature." &;Rebecca Kreitzer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

&;Heidt-Forsythe disrupts a prevailing narrative about the 'wild west' of egg donation (and ART generally) in the United States by taking her analysis to the state level to reveal where and how legislators are engaging and affecting egg donation uses, processes, and access.&; &;Kelly Dittmar, author of Navigating Gendered Terrain: Stereotypes and Strategy in Political Campaigns

&;An excellent case study on the gendered politics of policymaking surrounding egg donation.&;&;Karen Baird, author of Beyond Reproduction: Women&;s Health, Activism, and Public Policy

"Erin Heidt-Forsythe’s book is a substantive contribution to the fields of gender and politics, health policy, morality policy and public policy more generally. This timely and accessible book will be useful for a broad audience of scholars, undergraduates, and non-academics. With its focus on egg donation policy in lieu of more commonly studied reproductive health topics, the book is a genuinely novel addition to the gender and reproductive health literature." —Rebecca Kreitzer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“Heidt-Forsythe disrupts a prevailing narrative about the 'wild west' of egg donation (and ART generally) in the United States by taking her analysis to the state level to reveal where and how legislators are engaging and affecting egg donation uses, processes, and access.” —Kelly Dittmar, author of Navigating Gendered Terrain: Stereotypes and Strategy in Political Campaigns

“An excellent case study on the gendered politics of policymaking surrounding egg donation.”—Karen Baird, author of Beyond Reproduction: Women’s Health, Activism, and Public Policy

Erin Heidt-Forsythe is Assistant Professor in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and in Political Science at Pennsylvania State University.