Academic

Motility and Fertility

By Bridget Crawford

Fertility is a presumption we have about our bodies. If that presumption turns out to be wrong (or partially wrong or at least wrong for several months in a row), it can be crazy-making. Fertility treatments can be even crazier-making.

A male friend of mine recently had his sperm motility checked. When the sperm turned out to be “good,” he shared the news with a few friends. I was glad for him, but I didn’t think to say, “You’re the man,” as his golf buddies did. Why is a man with sperm motility especially (or adequately) manly, but a woman undergoing infertility treatments isn’t especially “womanly” if she has several ovarian follicles at the right time of the month?

-Bridget Crawford

Full post as published by Feminist Law Professors on March 05, 2008 (boomark / email).