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. 2020 Oct 14:11:42-47.
doi: 10.1016/j.rbms.2020.09.003. eCollection 2020 Nov.

Cross-border reproductive care in the USA: Who comes, why do they come, what do they purchase?

Heather Jacobson  1
Affiliations

Cross-border reproductive care in the USA: Who comes, why do they come, what do they purchase?

Heather Jacobson. Reprod Biomed Soc Online. .

Abstract

This article explores the participation of non-US-resident patients/clients in the US reproductive market, garnering a picture of cross-border reproductive care (CBRC) into the USA by drawing on the existing literature, identifying the frequency of and motivations for such arrangements, the primary sending countries, and the reproductive services sought. I find that although the expense of US CBRC necessarily limits the patient/client pool, it is largely non-economic factors that drive CBRC into the USA. The US CBRC patient/client base, which is diverse in terms of national origin, race and sexual orientation, is recruited by the US fertility industry and drawn to the full range of assisted reproductive technology (ART) services, such as in-vitro fertilization, surrogacy, oocyte donation and preimplantation genetic screening/preimplantation genetic diagnosis, available in the US market which are often restricted or limited in their countries of origin. CBRC patients/clients enjoy the legal clarity for establishing parentage and citizenship for their children available in the USA, as well as what some view as a medically and ethically superior ART market.

Keywords: CBRC; assisted reproduction; cross-border reproductive care; reproductive travel.

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