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The Journey of Infertility from Private Sphere to Public Domain: From Cosmetic Surgery to Disability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Soraya Tremayne
Soraya Tremayne*
Affiliation:
Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford
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Abstract

This study explores the process by which the treatment of infertility, which has been in the hands of the private sector, has been taken over by the state as a matter of public health. It argues that this shift stems from the pro-natalist policies of the state to help increase the population. Infertility treatment, using assisted reproductive technologies and its legitimization by the Islamic jurists, is used as a lens through which to examine the state's body politic. The frequent reversals of policies, since the late nineteenth century to the present, are shown to be directly linked with the nation-building goals of the state, expecting the citizens to readjust their reproductive behavior to meet the state’s policies.

Keywords

Population PoliciesInfertilityNation-buildingAssisted Reproductive TechnologiesIslamic Jurists
Type
Articles
Information
Iranian Studies , Volume 53 , Issue 1-2: Special Section: Medicine and Public Health in Modern Iran: Historical and Sociological Perspectives , March 2020 , pp. 113 - 127
Copyright
Copyright © Association For Iranian Studies, Inc 2020

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