Commercial egg extraction and the discourse on empowerment/exploitation in India

Abstract

In this article, we analyse Indian mass media reportage and ethnographic research findings from participants in commercial egg extraction procedures within assisted reproductive technologies, including egg donation and egg freezing or oocyte cryopreservation. In contrast to egg freezing, egg donation requires compensation to be paid to the donor for her contribution. The commercial egg extraction industry in India is dependent upon women willing to participate in a risky surgical procedure leading to the loss of biogenetic substance. We suggest that egg extraction constantly needs choreographed metaphors, such as those of empowerment and exploitation to be economically feasible and socially acceptable. To encourage women to participate in this procedure as donors and freezers, we found recurring references to ‘empowerment/exploitation’ within mass media discourse. In reality, empowerment seemed to be negotiated, as we found in our ethnographic fieldwork among women participating in egg extraction as donors and freezers in Hyderabad city, South India.