States of reproduction : the co-production of queer and trans parenthood in three European countries

Achieving parenthood with the help of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) remains a fraught business, particularly for queer and trans people who want to use sperm donation, egg donation, procedures involving surrogates, or other ARTs. This is because the regulation of fertility treatment and associated issues such as the documentation of parenthood in birth certificates and passports varies across countries including European jurisdictions. These variations include who is considered an appropriate prospective parent, what kind of treatment they should be allowed, and to what documented parent status they are entitled. Elaborating a continuum model of classifying countries according to their relatively permissive or restrictive ART regulations, we argue that other criteria of assessment need to be used to acknowledge queer and trans people. We compare Estonia, Austria and the UK in terms of LGBTIQ people's opportunities to access ART and the documentation of parenthood. The concept of 'ontological surgery' regarding the regulation of biotechnology in different states suggests ways of thinking about differences in access to ART and parenthood status both within and across countries for LGBTQI people seeking to form families and to create new kinds of kinship