Risa Cromer, "Conceiving Christian America: Embryo Adoption and Reproductive Politics" (NYU Press, 2023)
Oct 9, 2024
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Risa Cromer, an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Purdue University, dives into the complex world of embryo adoption, rooted in the desires of white pro-life evangelicals. She discusses how embryo adoption intersects with reproductive politics, nationalism, and white saviorism, revealing its push to redefine personhood. Cromer's six-year ethnographic research uncovers the emotional experiences of donors and recipients while highlighting the political motivations that drive this movement. Her insights offer a critical lens on the broader implications for reproductive rights and the Christian Right's influence.
Embryo adoption represents a political strategy within conservative Christian communities, reshaping reproductive narratives to advocate anti-abortion sentiments.
Ethnographic research reveals the emotional complexities faced by participants in embryo adoption, emphasizing the personal impact of political ideologies.
The concept of saviorism in embryo adoption creates hierarchies and tensions among participants, complicating altruistic motivations in reproductive politics.
Deep dives
The Intersection of Reproductive Politics and Christianity
The book discusses embryo adoption as a crucial element in understanding contemporary reproductive politics in the United States, particularly among conservative Christian communities. It emphasizes how embryo adoption is not merely a niche practice but a political strategy for advancing right-wing ideologies, particularly anti-abortion sentiments. The author highlights how this practice reshapes the narrative around frozen embryos, framing them as adoptable children deserving of life, thereby transforming reproductive medicine into a site of political contestation. By analyzing the historical context and the theological underpinnings that support embryo adoption, the book argues that this trend represents a significant shift in conservative Christian activism.
Anthropological Insights into Embryo Adoption
Anthropological methods play a key role in uncovering the nuances of embryo adoption practices and the experiences of individuals involved. The author details ethnographic research conducted within programs offering embryo adoption services, illustrating how the jargon of 'saviorship' influences both the professionals facilitating the process and the families seeking to adopt embryos. Through fieldwork, the author gains insight into the emotional and ethical dimensions faced by donors and recipients, revealing the complexities and challenges that arise in the matching process. The focus on lived experiences emphasizes how political ideologies manifest at the personal level, complicating simplistic narratives of saviorism.
Embryo Saviorism and Its Political Implications
The concept of embryo saviorism is critical in understanding how reproductive politics are mobilized within conservative Christian communities. This rhetoric cultivates a narrative that frames embryos as vulnerable subjects needing rescue, while positioning certain individuals as saviors tasked with fulfilling this obligation. The book explores how such narratives can inadvertently create hierarchies and conflicts among participants, as exemplified through case studies of donor-recipient relationships that became strained by differing expectations. By situating embryo adoption within broader political movements, the author argues that these dynamics reflect a deeper struggle over reproductive rights and personhood in contemporary U.S. society.
Matching Processes in Embryo Adoption
Matching recipients with embryos is governed by a set of practices steeped in the traditions of both adoption and reproductive technology. Through the lens of various programs, the author exposes how matching processes are influenced by donors' preferences and the organizational policies that dictate the selection criteria. Practices often privilege heterosexual, married couples, reflecting the underlying ideologies of the organizations facilitating these adoptions. This rigorous process reveals a tension between the ideal of altruistic saviorism and the very real desires of individuals seeking to create families, showcasing the complexities of human relationships in these politically charged contexts.
Critical Reflection on Saviorism and Its Effects
The conclusion of the book invites readers to adopt a critical stance toward saviorism in reproductive politics, questioning the motivations underlying desires to 'help' or 'rescue.' The author urges a wariness that acknowledges the potential harms of savior narratives, suggesting that such frameworks can obscure more complex social dynamics and perpetuate inequalities. This reflection is particularly relevant in light of contemporary political climates where reproductive rights are increasingly under siege. Ultimately, the call to be wary serves as a reminder of the importance of understanding the intricacies of power relations in discussions around embryo adoption and reproductive justice.
In 1997, a group of white pro-life evangelical Christians in the United States created the nation’s first embryo adoption program to “save” the thousands of frozen human embryos remaining from assisted reproduction procedures, which they contend are unborn children. While a small part of US fertility services, embryo adoption has played an outsized role in conservative politics, from high-profile battles over public investment in human embryonic stem cell research to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Based on six years of ethnographic research with embryo adoption staff and participants, Dr. Risa Cromer uncovers how embryo adoption advances ambitious political goals for expanding the influence of conservative Christian values and power.
Conceiving Christian America: Embryo Adoption and Reproductive Politics (NYU Press, 2023) is the first book on embryo adoption tracing how this powerful social movement draws on white saviorist tropes in their aims to reconceive personhood, with drastic consequences for reproductive rights and justice. Documenting the practices, narratives, and beliefs that move embryos from freezers to uteruses, this book wields anthropological wariness as a tool for confronting the multiple tactics of the Christian Right. Timely and provocative, Conceiving Christian America presents a bold and nuanced examination of a family-making process focused on conceiving a Christian nation.
This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars.
