"A designer baby? Yeah, right." In-vitro fertilization in Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper. (November 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Michailidou, Artemis
• Is Part Of: Women's studies international forum. Volume 77(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-11
• Subjects: In-vitro fertilization -- Feminism -- Technology -- Contemporary US fiction; Women's studies -- Periodicals; Feminism -- Periodicals; 305.4
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wsif.2019.102298
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0277-5395

Abstract

Abstract: The following paper is going to focus on one of the most popular, yet least examined contemporary US authors, Jodi Picoult. Taking as my starting point her well-known novel My Sister's Keeper (2004), I will explore in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and the concept of the "designer baby". After presenting an overview of feminist scholarly work on this controversial subject, I will examine Picoult's own approach to reproductive technologies in the 21st century, and draw attention to the instrumental role of IVF in the re-configuration of gender and family structures. Ultimately, I will argue that My Sister's Keeper raises crucial questions about biology, morality and ethics in contemporary America, and sensitively problematizes the way reproductive health is politicized today.