The Geneticization of Autism: From New Reproductive Technologies to the Conception of Genetic Normalcy

Changes in the Diagnosis of Autism: How Parents and Professionals Act and React in France

“…Its definition, etiological hypotheses, and proposed treatments have changed. Autism has shifted from being a rare disease to a broad syndrome and from a psychiatric disorder to a genetic disease involving an atypical development of the nervous system (Bumiller 2009;Hacking 2002;Nadesan 2005;Silverman 2008). Among parents, biological explanations are preferred because they decrease feelings of guilt (Chamak 2008;Farrugia 2009).…”

The ethics of complexity. Genetics and autism, a literature review

“…But wellbeing of individuals is never completely context independent, and a fundamental reflection on the extent to which societal accommodation is possible is needed [Lim, 2015]. As Bumiller has stated: if parents have a choice between giving birth to a normal child and an autistic child who may suffer stigma for being different, then, under current social conditions, there is essentially no choice at all, even if these parents would not object to raising a child with autism as such [Bumiller, 2009].…”

“…Moreover, they argue, a large proportion of autistics are unable to participate to the debate due to difficulties with communicating. Some parents organizations actively promote biomedical research, but are heavily criticized by autistic persons (neurodiversity movement), who often fear the eugenic implications of research to find a cure or to enable prevention, as they see autism as a desirable genetic variation [Bumiller, 2009;Perry, 2012]. It has been extensively argued that bioethical conclusions on issues related to disability cannot be solved without input from the affected parties themselves, and that a mere theoretical approach to bioethics is insufficient as such approach cannot lay bare all relevant ethical aspects of a given phenomenon [Scully, 2008].…”

Biopolitical Citizenship in the Immigration Adjudication Process

“…Noncitizen residents may acquire citizenship through a process of naturalization that varies by country but that often includes a mandatory duration of physical residency, knowledge of the country's history and primary language, and a fee (Bloemraad 2006;Hansen and Weil 2001). In the United States, only citizens are endowed with a complete set of civic, political, and social rights, making citizenship status highly valuable notwithstanding that formal entitlement to benefits does not guarantee substantive access to resources (Abrego 2008;Bumiller 1988;Engel and Munger 2003). All legal categories of state membership other than U.S. citizenship entail some material exclusion and formal limitations (Bosniak 2006;Brubaker 1990).…”

“…Didier Fassin andEstelle d'Halluin (2005, 2007) note that medical certifiers affiliated with NGOs in France mobilize asylum seekers' biology through their physical bodies as evidence of their social experiences, in order to present them as worthy of state support and benefits (Ticktin 2006(Ticktin , 2011. In Ruth Fitzgerald's (2008:255) understanding of biopolitical citizenship, access to state resources depends on the development of "'lay' expertise" and ground-level collective support directed at state members with the power to grant or deny access to resources (Beckett and Hoffman 2005;Bumiller 2009). Nikolas Rose and Carlos Novas (2005:446) argue that biological "citizens" cultivate knowledge about their biological characteristics, and, in solidarity with others of similar "biovalue," demand access to state services or recognition of their biological condition at a collective level (Heath, Rapp, and Taussig 2004;Nguyen 2010).…”