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Bipoc folx5/6/2023 ![]() In the Global South, feminists who work towards accessibility of infertility treatments have been met with pushback from authorities and institutions. The common trend that a select few continue to speak for the collective masses remains true in this case. was ill-adapted to the needs of women in other parts of the world” (Loughran and Davis, 2017, pg. The feminists of Global North, comprising of developed countries, advocate “for women’s rights to reproductive choice and control. There is a damning association between status and power in the form of race, gender, and socioeconomic privilege. These two compete for treatment and “popular, legal, and medical approaches to infertility” (Loughran and Davis, 2017, pg. Tracey Loughran and Gayle Davis, who authored The Palgrave handbook of infertility in history: Approaches, contexts and perspectives, attribute the monopoly of reproductive technologies to the Global North and Global South. Those alternatives neglect the physical and mental wellbeing of the individuals they are used on. Options that are available to people who cannot afford IVF turn to formal healthcare alternatives. NRTs elude people with lower socioeconomic status because in vitro fertilization (IVF) services like this are generally offered by a private sector accessible by “elites” (Inhorn, 2002). They are expensive and, therefore, accessible only by people who can afford them. To counter infertility, whether tubal infertility and/or male infertility, new reproductive technologies (NRTs) have been used. In reality, there are several influencing factors, including reproductive tract infections, that can lead to tubal infertility, postpartum complications, post-abortive complications, dietary or environmental toxins, and more. This association between sexual acts and identities perpetuates harmful stereotypes that can incur real-world consequences as seen by the onus falling on women time and time again for not being able to conceive. ![]() Sex is painted as a desire that women yearn for, which can only be fulfilled by men. Women are thought to be submissive and not have any libido until a man awakens a preconceived, insatiable hunger. Vance’s chapter “Social Construction Theory,” Vance discusses the archaic notion of “women’s innate sexual passivity” (Grewal and Kaplan, 2006, pg. So why do countries explicitly blame women for infertility when statistically men are predominantly infertile? This is a problem that starts not at the time of testing for pregnancy but when trying for pregnancy. Infertility exists with significant global incidence-“some portion of every human population is affected by the inability to conceive during their reproductive lives” (Inhorn, 2002). To understand how birth control has been used as a limiting agent, one must first understand the prevalence of infertility. However, involuntary infertility and abortion on an institutional level have proved to be a discriminatory implementation of birth control designed to limit populations of BIPOC people. On a cursory glance, birth control and abortion rights may not seem tied to infertility. It is for this reason that the absence of BIPOC folx in these movements is a powerful act of resistance that stands in opposition to BIPOC-life-threatening governmental policies on a day-to-day basis. This phenomenon occurs on a global scale, stifling the growth and success of BIPOC populations across the world. White women exclude BIPOC folx on the basis that they do not share the same “class, race, religion, sexual preference” (Bell, 1984, pg. ![]() This is a reflection on “a select group of college-educated, middle and upper-class, married white women” using BIPOC people as a stepping stone towards achieving freedom and privileges in their own lives (Bell, 1984, pg. BIPOC individuals, particularly those with lower socioeconomic status in comparison with their white counterparts, are hindered from reaping the benefits of the reproductive justice movement. Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) folx are not the intended benefactors of these initiatives. ![]() The birth control movement, infertility treatments, and abortion rights campaign deliver liberation to all who benefit from them. ![]()
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