What are reproductive futures?

When we talk about reproductive futures, we’re talking about more than just biology. We're asking:
Who gets to have children? How? When? Why? And under what conditions?

Reproductive futures are shaped by science and medicine, like fertility preservation, IVF, and egg freezing. But also, by culture, faith, family expectations, gender roles, laws, and inequality. It’s a lens: a way of examining how emerging reproductive technologies, cultural values, political systems, and personal choices intersect to shape not only how people have children, but how we imagine family, gender, and kinship in the future.

This term draws from critical fields such as Science and Technology Studies (STS), feminist theory, and bioethics, all of which ask:

• Who has access to reproductive technologies?

• What social, religious, and political values influence reproductive decision-making?

• How are concepts like parenthood, inheritance, and legacy being redefined?

In regions like the Gulf, reproductive futures are not just shaped by science or the state, but also by Islamic bioethics and local moral economies. What’s religiously permissible? How do faith-based values shape decisions around sperm freezing, embryo donation, or gestational surrogacy?

There’s growing scholarly interest in how Islamic jurisprudence and modern medicine negotiate authority — sometimes harmonizing, sometimes conflicting. Reproductive futures are forged in this dialogue.

Whether we're discussing freezing eggs, delaying parenthood, or navigating faith and fertility, we’re talking about the choices, challenges, and hopes that shape not just individual lives — but generations to come.

At the heart of this project is a simple idea:
Reproduction is never just private. It’s always social, cultural, and deeply political.

By exploring reproductive futures, we hope to create space for thoughtful conversations.
Conversations that are inclusive, critical, culturally rooted — and grounded in real stories.