Beyond barriers: infertility as a reproductive justice issue among marginalised communities

While biomedical interventions to address infertility have proliferated in recent years, research reveals that the distribution of treatment is far from equitable. Addressing this issue through a reproductive justice theoretical framework is the aim of this chapter. We pay particular attention to how identities such as race, gender, social class, culture, age, and ability intersect to shape the experiences of, and access to, resources for the treatment of infertility and reproductive care more broadly. Contextualised within broader sociocultural discourses of the “ideal” mother/parent, we focus on the experiences of migrant and refugee women, trans men, and people with disability. Our aim is to illustrate how intersecting forms of oppression, including racism, transphobia, and ableism, leave marginalised groups on the peripheries of reproductive healthcare for infertility. We advocate for greater inclusion of marginalised populations in future infertility research and the dismantling of exclusionary healthcare policies that deny equitable access to care. There is a need for a transformative shift to the current delivery of fertility healthcare to ensure not only access, but the delivery of care and infertility information that is accessible and culturally safe. Without this, infertility will continue to be seen as an issue primarily affecting white, middle-class, heterosexual, and able-bodied infertile couples.