Donor Insemination
International Social Science Perspectives

This 1998 book considers socio-cultural and policy dimensions to donor insemination, with international perspectives.

Ken Daniels (Edited by), Erica Haimes (Edited by)

9780521497831, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 14 May 1998

198 pages, 2 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.1 cm, 0.3 kg

Donor insemination or DI is the oldest and most widely practised form of assisted conception but, until relatively recently, it had been assessed largely from a medical perspective. This 1998 book brings together an international group of social scientists to discuss the social, cultural, political and practical dimensions to DI, relating it to the wider debates about fertility treatment and the place of assisted conception in contemporary society. The contributors consider the experience of DI from the viewpoint of all the various parties involved, including the recipients of the treatment, the sperm providers, the clinicians, the people conceived and policy-makers working in the area. The assumptions informing the practices around DI and the reactions to it are critically examined, with reference to developments worldwide, cross-national issues, the language of DI, gender, sexuality, ethnicity and identity.

1. International social science perspectives on donor insemination: an introduction Erica Haimes and Ken Daniels
2. The users of donor insemination Judith N. Lasker
3. Families created through donor insemination Robert and Elizabeth Snowden
4. The making of 'the DI child' Erica Haimes
5. The semen providers Ken Daniels
6. The medical management of donor insemination Simone Novaes
7. Regulation of donor insemination Robert Blank
8. Donor insemination and 'public opinion' Jeanette Edwards
9. Concluding comments Erica Haimes and Ken Daniels.

Subject Areas: Ethical issues & debates [JFM]