Oral

The surge in reproductive tourism in our increasingly globalized world requires close attention by public health advocates. This new type of “tourism” involves individuals and couples traveling to other countries to find cheaper or less restrictive reproductive technology services, such as surrogacy, egg donation, or sex selection. Rapid developments in the use of reproductive and genetic technologies, in an international environment in which regulation varies significantly by country, means that public health advocates are faced with a host of new health and ethical challenges. This panel will provide an overview of reproductive tourism around the world today, articulate why reproductive tourism is a public health issue, explore the notion of exploitation and its relationship to reproductive tourism, and describe the current state of regulation around the world.

Session Objectives: 1) Build knowledge about an emerging reproductive health concern 2) Understand the public health implications of reproductive tourism 3) Evaluate limits within the existing debate and its implications for public health assessment 4) Identify factors which contribute to reproductive tourism