Obscuring 'Paternal Genetic Responsibility': Inclusion and Exclusion of the Male Reproductive Body in the Clinical Context of Infertility Care.

This research, situated within the context of in vitro fertilisation as a care service, demonstrates how the male reproductive body is strategically foregrounded and subsequently marginalised in attributing infertility causes. Based primarily on interviews with 43 fertility clinicians in Taiwan, this study shows that during initial consultations, cultural norms discouraging male participation in the diagnostic process prompt clinicians to incorporate the male reproductive body. Issues related to sperm count, motility and morphology are emphasised, underscoring paternal responsibility for 'failing to naturally conceive'. However, as IVF care proceeds, these sperm-related concerns are perceived as resolved through adopting clinical technology-intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Additionally, disparities in scientific knowledge about the genetic contributions of sperm and eggs lead clinicians to downplay the potential negative genetic impact of sperm on embryo development. Consequently, when discussing the responsibility for 'the failed IVF outcome', the male reproductive body is marginalised and a form of paternal genetic responsibility is rendered obscure. Existing scholarship scrutinises the predominant emphasis on maternal responsibility while relegating men to peripheral roles in reproductive 'faulty' outcomes or after conception. This research instead argues that the gendered assignment of responsibility within the biomedicalisation of reproduction is a multistaged, dynamically complex process shaped by socioclinical factors.