Reproductive Entanglements in Times of War: Transnational Gestational Surrogacy in Ukraine and Beyond
Anika König
Abstract
Until early 2022, within the global fertility industry, Ukraine was one of the most important destinations for reproductive travel worldwide, particularly specializing in gestational surrogacy for international intended parents. Already weakened by the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions, the surrogacy market, and here especially surrogates and intended parents, was strongly affected by the Russian invasion in February 2022. In this article, I discuss and analyze the reproductive entanglements of surrogates, intended parents, and the children born through such transnational surrogacy arrangements in Ukraine and how this extreme crisis of war exposed and exacerbated existing vulnerabilities.
Topics & Concepts
PandemicDestinationsFertilityCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)Political science2019-20 coronavirus outbreakEconomic growthPolitical economySociologyMedicineDemographyTourismLawPopulationEconomicsDiseasePathologyOutbreakInfectious disease (medical specialty)VirologyReproductive Health and TechnologiesDemographic Trends and Gender PreferencesHomicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse