Cultural and Normative Imaginaries in Parliamentary and Public Debates on Social Egg Freezing in Denmark

Janne Rothmar Herrmann, Charlotte Kroløkke

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Abstract

Widely known as a global exporter of cryopreserved sperm, Danish women’s eggs follow very
different trajectories. This paper identifies the cultural and normative imaginaries, which are
expressed in parliamentary and public debates on social egg freezing in Denmark. We use the
concept of sociotechnical imaginaries (Jasanoff, 2015) to demonstrate how imaginaries are not
merely hoped-for-futures but also embedded within the nexus of cultural, legal, and political
milieus. To expound on what imaginaries has shaped the Danish regulation on the cryopreservation
of eggs, we trace the bills, their three readings in Parliament and the concurrent public and ethical
debates that in time relaxed the legal limit for the cryopreservation of eggs from the initial proposed
1 year limit to the current 5 years and today ignite discussions on elective egg freezing. We then
discuss how those imaginaries differ or are consistent with the general perception in law,
parliamentary, and public debate. Relying on welfare state theory, we discuss why reproduction in
the Danish context is seen as a legitimate and appropriate sphere to regulate, while we turn to
feminist theorizing to discuss their gendered implications
Original languageEnglish
Publication dateSep 2017
Publication statusPublished - Sep 2017
EventFrozen: Social and Bioethical Aspects of Cryo-Fertility: Minerva Gentner Symposium - Tel Aviv Academic College, Tel Aviv, Israel
Duration: 1 Oct 20174 Oct 2017

Workshop

WorkshopFrozen: Social and Bioethical Aspects of Cryo-Fertility
LocationTel Aviv Academic College
Country/TerritoryIsrael
CityTel Aviv
Period01/10/201704/10/2017

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