More Than a Biological Condition: The Heteronormative Framing of Infertility

• Main Authors: Erika Maxwell, Maria Mathews, Shree Mulay
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Programmes de bioéthique, École de santé publique de l'Université de Montréal 2018-07-01
• Series: Canadian Journal of Bioethics
• Subjects: infertility; fertility services; LGBT; Barriers to care; heteronormativity
• Online Access: https://cjb-rcb.ca/index.php/cjb-rcb/article/view/64

Infertility is often framed from the perspective of heterosexual couples, the dominant patient group using reproductive technologies. However, there are many types of patients availing of fertility treatments and those patients are often overlooked in policy, planning, service provision, and research. This commentary demonstrates the need for further research into LGBT subgroups, who frequently fall outside of infertility discourses, and are therefore especially disadvantaged by current policy and fertility service structures.