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Making the Ethnic Embryo: Enacting Race in US Embryo Adoption.

Risa Cromer
Published in: Medical anthropology (2019)
How are frozen embryos donated for procreation racialized as "ethnic" subjects and what are the political implications of these enactments? Based on ethnographic research within an embryo adoption program in the United States, I examine the practices through which staff and participants produce "ethnicity" in embryos and trace its multiple permutations. Strategies used to stabilize race in embryos also disturb, fracture, and confound the bases for designating race. Analyzing race-making practices in embryo adoption reveals the interplay between practical challenges in assisted family-making practices and their wider political implications for reproductive politics.
Keyphrases
  • primary care
  • healthcare
  • pregnancy outcomes
  • electronic health record
  • quality improvement
  • pregnant women
  • heavy metals
  • risk assessment