ABSTRACT
Contemporary IVF is undergoing a speculative turn, which is characterized by an increasing number of tests and treatments that are future-oriented, risk-focused, and speculative in nature. This chapter addresses how processes of financialization are paving the way for a future remaking of fertility in which a new norm of “proactive fertility management” also implicates a widely indicated reliance on biotechnological interventions. It analyzes the financialization of fertility by first developing a conceptual framework based on the literature on biocapital and cellular life. The chapter describes the role of equity investments in the emergence of egg freezing start-ups and the concomitant expansion and consolidation of fertility services. It discusses how financial products such as subscription plans and insurance for egg freezing establish a dynamic between investment and indebtedness through which ongoing fertility is enacted and constituted.
