Playing Dolly: Technocultural Formations, Fantasies and Fictions of Assisted Reproduction

Reproductive technology spans techniques ranging from cloning, surrogate motherhood, egg donation, and prenatal testing. In the early nineties, when public debate about this topic was new, the discourse focused on the moral and ethical issues that these new technologies evoked. Less than a decade later, the editors in "Playing Dolly" state, ethical questions seem less urgent. Enormous changes have taken place in the way that reproduction is represented, understood, and discussed.The pieces, which range from the biomedical to the sociocultural and include even fiction, reflect the shift in public perception of these complex topics. They testify to the increasing acceptance of reproductive technology, and the resulting reduction in concern over the ethical issues raised by technological intervention.