Kinship Within the Context of New Genetics

Abstract

Development of knowledge in the area of genetics plays an increasingly important role in the definition and characterization of kinship. To this day, several studies have focused on the risks represented by genetics within the context of new procreation techniques or genetic diseases, but very few have studied the impact of the development of biogenetics on the social institution of adoption. This article explores the issues related to genetics for adoptive parents who previously tried reproductive medicine. If their trajectories seem to illustrate the passage between two distinct spheres, from a fertility-seeking process centered on biology and genetics with assisted procreation to the social and emotional experience of adoption, our study demonstrates the mix of biogenetic and social factors in their representations and definitions of family and kinship.