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Making families, making futures: anthropology, demography, and the ethics of ART

Precongress Course 6


SIG Global and Sociocultural-Aspects of Infertility SIG Nursing and Midwifery    ESHRE Special Interest Groups Global and Socio cultural Aspects of Infertility and Nursing and Midwifery

Course coordinators
Denisa Protopopescu (Romania) and Louise Dias (Belgium)


Course type
Basic


Course description
This course explores the transformative impact of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) on family life, demographic patterns, and ethical frameworks in the 21st century. Drawing on perspectives from anthropology, demography, law, and emerging technologies, this course examines how scientific advances and shifting legal landscapes are reshaping what it means to create families and envision futures.

Educational needs and expected outcomes 

  • To provide interdisciplinary perspectives on ART beyond clinical practice, including its demographic, anthropological, legal, ethical, and technological dimensions
  • Address gaps in heathcare provider training regarding demographic consequences, of ART access
  • Explore ethical dilemmas parents and clinicians face
  • Explore the impact of AI and new technologies on reproductive practices


By the end of the course, attendees will be able to:

  • Explain the demographic, anthropological, and ethical dimensions of ART and their role in shaping family-making in the 21st century
  • Analyse how demographic trends intersect with the rise and spread of ART
  • Evaluate the shifting legal and scientific landscapes surrounding ART; interpret the lived experiences of parents and families navigating ethical dilemmas in reproduction
  • Critically assess contemporary challenges and opportunities in fertility; examine the role of emerging technologies

 

Innovative aspects of the course
Interdisciplinary orientation, future-oriented focus, patient testimonies, global and comparative perspective, engagement with emerging technologies.

Target audience
All professions (physicians, nurses, midwives, andrologists, counsellors, practice administrators, health secretaries, embryologists)

Programme



Sunday 05 July 2026

Session 1: Anthropology of reproductive technologies
Chairs
Chairperson to be announced
Chairperson to be announced
09:00 - 09:30
Gametogenesis: lives, compromises and sacrifices
Noémie Merleau-Ponty, France
09:30 - 09:45
Discussion
09:45 - 10:15
Ontological choreography in ART
Charis Thompson, U.S.A.
10:15 - 10:30
Discussion
10:30 - 11:00
Coffee break
Session 2: Demographic reality change in ART
Chairperson to be announced
Chairperson to be announced
11:00 - 11:30
Age-based regulations in ART
Marie-Caroline Compans, France
11:30 - 11:45
Discussion
11:45 - 12:15
Reproductive age window 
Ester Lazzari, Italy
12:15 - 12:30
Discussion
12:30 - 13:30
Lunch break
Session 3: Ethics
Chairperson to be announced
Chairperson to be announced
13:30 - 14:30
Shifting legal and scientific landscapes
Sigal Klipstein, U.S.A.
14:00 - 14:15
Discussion
14:15 - 14:45
Experience of a parent facing ethical dilemas
Speaker to be announced
14:45 - 15:00
Discussion
15:00 - 15:30
Coffee break
Session 4: Future projections
Chairperson to be announced
Chairperson to be announced
15:30 - 16:00
Fertility in the 21st century-challenges and opportunities
Speaker to be announced
16:00 - 16:15
Discussion
16:15 - 16:45
How AI is reshaping fertility
Speaker to be announced
16:45 - 17:00
Discussion