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KMID : 1159920060070010099
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Korean Journal of Women s Health
2006 Volume.7 No. 1 p.99 ~ p.131
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Dedicating Femininity to State-Governed Bio-tech: A Research on the Egg Donation Campaigns
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Abstract
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This research investigates the issues related to the abuse of female ova which have been revealed with Hwang’s stem cell scandal in 2005. Woo Suk Hwang had rose to national stardom since March 2005 thanks to his success in embryonic stem cell cloning. Then, later in the same year, Hwang and his mission was totally disgraced as the major part of his research turned out to be falsified. Although it is indisputable that such an academic fraud requires proper punishment, this single issue rather monopolized public attention and, as a side-effect, covered up other serious ones including the exploitation of ova.
As it was revealed, more than 2,000 ova have been used as a valuable resource for Hwang’s experiment, while less than 20 ova in average have been used for similar researches conducted in other countries. This article examines how the particular mechanism of Korean society “licensed” Hwang to utilize such many ova without any critical accusations. In Korea, centers for infertility are prevalent nationwide, and they transact surplus supplies of ova left after artificial inseminations. Korean society, where women’s role is circumscribed mainly to reproductive functions, operates as a comfort zone for such infertility centers to constantly spread out. Based on this evidence, it is possible enough to assume that Hwang’s biotechnology which involves artificial insemination is closely linked to reproductive technology. Furthermore, due to the ever-growing demand in artificial insemination, an unofficial form of “ova market” has been established and also facilitated Hwang’s research.
The goal of this work is to identify the socio-cultural factors that motivated a group of women voluntarily to donate their eggs for Hwang’s research, despite the hazards of possible side-effects. Given the circumstances of Korea in which female body is considered as a key vehicle for the nation state’s triumph in the worldwide scientific competition, only those women who are dedicated enough to sacrifice themselves and serve this purpose can have their subjectivity and true citizenship recognized. Since women over the age of 40 usually have difficulty to have their social status appreciated, they provide a “reliable source” of eggs in attempt to attain this genuine citizenship. This article explores the phenomena that take place at the very location where the desire of middle-aged women meets state-governed biotech industry.
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KEYWORD
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Women`s bodies, reproductive technology, biotechnology, sale of human ova, egg donation
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