The ART clock: Temporal limits to assisted reproduction.

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Health
• Sociology of Reproduction
• Bioethics

Background:

• Popular understanding of the 'biological clock' focuses on fertility timelines.
• Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is increasingly viewed as a solution to delayed reproduction.
• The experiences of surrogates within the ART market are underexplored, particularly concerning time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze how US surrogates perceive their availability for commercial ART.
• To understand the interplay between surrogates' reproductive trajectories and their work.
• To introduce the concept of the 'ART clock' to describe temporal aspects of surrogacy.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative analysis of interview data from gestational surrogates in the USA.
• Exploration of surrogates' understanding of time in relation to their reproductive labor.

Main Results:

• Surrogates may use surrogacy to extend their own reproductive timelines.
• Achieving and sustaining third-party pregnancies requires significant time investment.
• Repeat surrogacy 'journeys' extend women's total reproductive time, but face temporal limits (age, season, effort, number of pregnancies).

Conclusions:

• The 'ART clock' concept highlights how time shapes reproductive labor and desire for surrogates.
• Assisted reproduction faces inherent temporal constraints, limiting ART as a universal solution for delayed reproduction.
• Surrogacy involves complex temporal negotiations for reproductive workers within the fertility industry.