On (global) care chains in times of crisis: egg donation and domestic work in Spain

Abstract

The Spanish reproductive bioeconomy has bloomed in the last few decades. There are now over three hundred fertility clinics in Spain, which has become one of the main destinations for what is often called "reproductive tourism" in the European context. The phenomenon of assisted reproduction has been extensively studied within English-speaking countries of the global North, but not so much in the cluster of Spanish-speaking countries, with a few interesting exceptions. Following the invitation to collaborate in this special issue around reproduction in Latin America and Spain, we offer an analysis of how Spanish oocyte provision and domestic work function as part of global care chains (GCC). We will compare the results of two major projects: one focusing on domestic work and the other on egg donation programs, both in Spain. We will introduce different perspectives around care and GCC, discussing how transference of oocytes can be viewed as a type of feminized labor involving affective-care work, clinical work, and biological work. The framework of GCC, a concept used to unpack unjust power relations embedded in transferences of care in current neoliberal and globalized socioeconomic arrangements, can help to enable a conversation on how transferences of reproductive capacity might be reinforcing the stratification of reproduction. Cadeias (globais) de cuidados em tempos de crise: doação de óvulos e emprego doméstico na Espanha RESUMO A bioeconomia reprodutiva espanhola cresceu significativamente nas últimas décadas com a abertura de mais de trezentas clínicas de fertilidade em todo o país e se tornou, no contexto Europeu, um dos principais destinos do chamado "turismo reprodutivo." Embora o fenômeno da reprodução assistida tenha sido amplamente estudado nos países de língua inglesa do norte global, ele não tem sido devidamente analisado no mundo de língua espanhola, com exceções muito interessantes, mas poucas. Neste artigo, gostaríamos de aproveitar a oportunidade, surgida através do convite para colaborar nesta edição especial sobre reprodução na América Latina e na Espanha, para oferecer uma KEYWORDS Spanish reproductive bioeconomy; eggs-öocytes; transference of reproductive capacity-TRCs; assisted reproductive technologies-ARTs; global care chains PALAVRAS-CHAVE Bioeconomia reprodutiva espanhola; óvulos; transferências de capacidade reprodutiva; cadeias globais de cuidado; reprodução assistida PALABRAS CLAVE Bioeconomía reproductiva española; óvulos; transferencia de capacidad reproductiva (TCR); Cadenas globales de cuidados (CGC); tecnologías de reproducción asistida

Cultural health capital and the stratification of reproduction in Czech and Spanish egg donation markets

“…These disparities in diagnoses are partially due to cultural beliefs that suggest women of colour are hyper‐fertile (Bell, 2009), potentially influencing physicians' attitudes towards their patients and women's own perception of their (in)fertility (Bell, 2010, 2014). Additional research on disparities in fertility care focusses on the global ‘fertility industry’ (Spar, 2006) as a place for the replication of stratified reproduction (Cohen, 1995; Deomampo, 2019; Lafuente‐Funes & Pérez Orozco, 2020; Martin, 2009; Molas & Perler, 2020).…”