Bio-politics, capitalism, and children | JosAnn Cutajar

Prof. JosAnn Cutajar, Department of Gender & Sexualities

Malta defines itself as a child loving country. Facts dispute this. Malta has one of the lowest fertility rates in the European Union. This is also a global issue as Gallagher’s article Fertility rate: ‘Jaw-dropping’ global crash in children being born demonstrates (1). By 2100, some countries such as Japan and Spain will see their population halved.

Women, this article underlines, are not having as many babies as they did in the past. Sylvia Bonnici (2023) in her Master of Arts (MA) dissertation interviewed young Maltese women in a stable relationship who, together with their partner, have decided that they do not want to have children (2). Francesca Fenech Conti (2023), in another MA dissertation, underlined that although Maltese women do resort to some sort of contraception this still leads to some unplanned pregnancies (3). Anna Borg (2021) and others maintain that this dwindling in the rate of children born is due to various reasons – the fact that more women are investing in an education and employment (4). As Borg however points out, the neo-liberal economy is enticing more people into paid labour, whether they want to or prefer to stay at home to take care of their children. The bulk of the income earned is spent on accruing a ‘home’. Whether you buy a small flat or a house, the majority have to take a bank loan, or else spend their life renting accommodation, which isn’t feasible in the long run. So, young couples are postponing starting a family, or not even going there.

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Couples and individuals who want biological children do have options if they have money. They can do it the traditional way. Some however use pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) testing to screen the embryos for sex, race, and/or chronic illnesses or disability. PGD is a laboratory procedure used in conjunction with in vitro fertilization (IVF). This procedure is not legal in all countries.

Estreich (2019) also mentions human genome editing which is used to produce ‘better babies’. In some countries, a number of medical tests and procedures are also undertaken during a pregnancy – ultrasound scans, blood tests, amniocentesis, etc (5). When one of these tests show that the foetus has a disability, doctors – depending on the country – may put pressure on the parents to abort even when the mother wants to go ahead with the pregnancy. Down syndrome in Iceland and Sweden, for example, is disappearing. Disability scholars, activists, and supporters argue that life with disability is not inherently tragic. Physical, developmental, and emotional impairments can limit life activities, however a number of the limitations faced by individuals with impairments are socially constructed.

The world is also witnessing an increase in ‘designer babies’, a number of which are born via social surrogacy. In some countries, there is no legal requirement that the babies born of this practice have to be genetically linked to one of the intending parents. Without this piece of national and international legislation, we might see an explosion in the gamete market to make designer babies and/or baby farming. Those who want such babies, will seek gametes – eggs and sperm – of young, highly intelligent and attractive women and men attending elite universities who have athletic and artistic talents. In the past, these gamete donors could remain anonymous.

Donor-conceived people however are pushing governments to ensure that gamete donation does not remain anonymous since this has genetic implications in the case of inherited diseases; there are also public health concerns in the eventuality of people conceived from the same gamete donor might procreate and/or marry each other.

Other countries have decided which racial and ethnic groups can have children.

The United States has a long history of forcibly sterilising certain racial groups. Black women have been sterilised against their will in the past.

People believe that to have or not to have children, and which children they get to be bear, is a personal decision. Little attention is given to the interaction between bio-political dynamics and political rule and how these intersect with capitalism and its distinct systemic drives.

References

1. Gallagher, J. (2020). Fertility rate: ‘Jaw-dropping’ global crash in children being born. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-53409521

2. Bonnici, S. (2023). The Perception of motherhood amongst women living in Malta. A comparative Discourse Analysis. [Unpublished MA dissertation]. University of Malta.

3. Fenech Conti, F. (2023). Family planning and contraception practice of Maltese women. [Unpublished MA dissertation]. University of Malta.

4. Borg, A., (2021). The evolution of women in the Maltese labour market between 1960 and 2020. In M. Debono & G. Baldacchino (Eds.), Working life and the transformation of Malta 1960-2020 (pp. 49-67). Malta: Malta University Press.

5. Estreich, G. (2019). Fables and Futures. Biotechnology, Disability, and the Stories We Tell Ourselves. MIT Press.