Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Fertility “Tourism”: Examples from Global Dubai and the Ivy League

Abstract

What motivates the global movements of infertile people searching for assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs)? In this article, we attempt to answer this question by exploring infertile patients' practices of so-called "fertility tourism." Based on ethnographic research carried out with nearly 300 infertile travelers in two major ART centers--one in the global hub of the United Arab Emirates and the other at a major East Coast Ivy League university--we examine a diverse set of reasons for reproductive travel. We argue that reproductive "tourism" should be reconceptualized as reproductive "exile" in that infertile couples feel barred from accessing ARTs in their home countries. Listening to reproductive travel stories is key to understanding infertile couples' transnational "quests for conception." Stories of two couples, one from Lebanon and one from Italy, demonstrate the poignancy of these quests and begin to shed light on the complex calculus of factors governing this global movement of reproductive actors.

Why do patients engage in medical tourism?

“…Medical tourism is more than an economic issue or a pricedriven phenomenon given the nature of services sought and the foreign environment in which treatment is delivered [5,15,29]. That patients seek access to care abroad says something about how health is construed and how domestic health care is regarded and, as such, reflects to a certain extent on the performance and responsiveness of domestic health care systems [26,28].…”

“…While need is determined by the individual, the health care system influences the extent to which a hierarchy of needs for health care is actualized. To illustrate, even as in vitro fertilization (IVF) is approved as a (fertility) treatment within a health care system, restrictions to the number of covered treatments or the high market pricing of treatments can lead to an unmet need, which medical tourism then fulfills in non-domestic locations [14,15]. In this regard, while need is independent of economic considerations (i.e.…”

A realist synthesis of cross-border patient movement from low and middle income countries to similar or higher income countries

“…Several of the studies also highlighted the contextual factors of cultural proximity in determining patient destination [10, 68, 71, 91]. The ethno-linguistic similarity between Lao patients along the Lao/Thai border, for example, helped facilitate patient travel [68, 69].…”

A survey on public opinion regarding financial incentives for oocyte donation in Brazil

“…Legislation often prohibits or imposes limitations on certain reproductive treatments without the necessary opinions and education of the society. These restrictions can lead to reproductive tourism, when couples travel to countries with flexible legislation seeking treatments they are unable to receive in their country of residence (Hughes & DeJean, 2010;Lunt & Carrera, 2010;Crozier & Martin, 2012;de Mouzon et al, 2012;Inhorn et al, 2012;Shalev Felmayer, 2012). Reproductive tourism is rare in Brazil but common in Europe and a profitable business in India.…”