Annual Conference
Human Reproduction Study Group
Thursday 23rd July 2015 at 9.30 am – 4.00 pm
The Open University, Milton Keynes

This year the plenary paper will be delivered by Dr Cathy Herbrand, Research Fellow in Sociology at the Reproduction Research Group at De Montfort University 

Dr Herbrand will present:
‘Technology of hope vs. the slippery slope?’ Deconstructing the debate on ‘three parent IVF’

As of February 2015 the UK became the first country to legalise high-profile mitochondrial replacement techniques, which involve the creation of offspring using genetic material from three individuals. Central to this presentation is an examination of the public debates surrounding these novel techniques, the claims made in relation to them and the imaginaries that have been mobilised in the process. I will draw on insights gained from a current qualitative study with families living with mitochondrial disorders, in order to contrast these discourses with the
complex reproductive choices faced by families who are affected. The presentation considers the public positioning by various actors of mitochondrial replacement techniques as representing either a ‘technology of hope’ or as the ubiquitous ‘slippery slope’ to unwanted progressive technological intervention in human reproduction.

For more information and to book see the link below
http://www.britsoc.co.uk/media/83318/Human_Reproduction_Conference_2015.pdf?1436777609101