ABSTRACT
This ground-breaking book challenges us to re-think ourselves as techno-sapiens—a new species we are creating as we continually co-evolve ourselves with our technologies. While some of its chapters are imaginary, they are all empirically grounded in ethnography and richly theorized from diverse disciplines.
The authors go far beyond a techno-optimism vs. techno-pessimism stance, stretching our thinking about birthing techno-sapiens to consider not only how our cyborgian reproductive lives are constrained and/or enabled by technology but are also about emotions and spirit. The world of reproductive health care and particularly that of genetic engineering is developing exponentially, and current challenges are vastly different from those of a decade ago. The book is provocative, intended to generate debate, ideas, and future research and to influence ethical policy and practice in human techno-reproduction. It will be of interest across the social sciences and humanities, for reproductive scholars, bioethicists, techno-scientists, and those involved in the development and delivery of maternity services.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|164 pages
From Biocultural Evolution to Human-Technology Co-Evolution
chapter 2|13 pages
Egg Freezing Activists:
chapter 3|17 pages
The Speculative Turn in IVF:
chapter 6|20 pages
Making Better Babies?
chapter 9|14 pages
Elective Cesarean Births in the US and the Global Cesarean Epidemic:
chapter 10|14 pages
Cancerous Contraceptives and the Incubation of Monsters:
part II|118 pages
Imagining Techno-Holistic Reproductive Futures