Main description:

In their desperate quest for conception, thousands of infertile couples from around the world travel to the global in vitro fertilization (IVF) hub of Dubai. In Cosmopolitan Conceptions Marcia C. Inhorn highlights the stories of 220 "reprotravelers" from fifty countries who sought treatment at a "cosmopolitan" IVF clinic in Dubai. These couples cannot find safe, affordable, legal, and effective IVF services in their home countries, and their stories offer a window into the world of infertility-a world that is replete with pain, fear, danger, frustration, and financial burden. These hardships dispel any notion that traveling for IVF treatment is reproductive tourism. The magnitude of reprotravel to Dubai, Inhorn contends, reflects the failure of countries to meet their citizens' reproductive needs, which suggests the necessity of creating new forms of activism that advocate for developing alternate pathways to parenthood, reducing preventable forms of infertility, supporting the infertile, and making safe and low-cost IVF available worldwide.

Contents:

Illustrations ix

Prologue. Rahnia's Reproductive Journey xi

Introduction. IVF Sojourns 1

1. Hubs: Medical Cosmopolitanism in the Emirates 35
Hubs: Reprotravel Stories 77

2. Absences: Resource Shortages and Waiting Lists 105
Absences: Reprotravel Stories 138

3. Restrictions: Religious Bans and Law Evasion 159
Restricitions: Reprotravel Stories 197

4. Discomforts: Medical Harm and the Search for High-Quality IVF 221
Discomforts: Reprotravel Stories 255

Conclusion. Cosmopolitan Conceptions 287

Acknowledgments 305

Glossory of Medical Terms 311

Notes 321

References 351

Index 371