Class and Knowledge

1. Social class and its relationship to economic resources and power is the most fundamental arena of constraint in the realm of Egyptian test-tube baby making

1.1. Upper class=those who can afford procedures without significant limitations

1.2. Middle class= those who can afford them but under limited circumstances

1.3. Lower class= those who can never afford procedures without the miracle of physician charity

2. Lower class

2.1. Artificial insemination

2.2. Undergo one trial after selling valuables or borrowing money from family members

2.3. Charity cases

2.4. Religious beliefs drive their desire to attempt to afford procedures

2.5. Poor are despised for bringing babies into this world, because they are not likely to be potential contributors to the future Egyptian state

3. Middle class

3.1. Well represented at Egyptian IVF centers

3.2. Not having enough money to conduct IVF or ICSI multiple times= most fundamental area of constraint. Can be financially devastating over time

3.3. Highly educated but salaries are relatively low

3.4. Gamble all of their money on one-time attempts to get pregnant. All life savings usually go into trying to have a child

3.5. Labor migration=major source of funds

4. Upper class

4.1. Have most access to reproductive technology due to unlimited funding

4.2. Highly educated-both man and women

4.3. Able to financially repeat procedures as many times as needed without difficulty

4.4. Costs are not constraining

4.5. Elite

5. Knowledge is power

5.1. Presents as a problem because many Egyptians don't have the proper education of their reproductive biology.

5.2. Knowledge of technology is based on Western notions of human reproduction

5.3. Definition of scientific literacy= inadequate

6. Lack of knowledge leads to stigmatizing gender roles in reproduction

6.1. Reproduction difficulties are blamed on the women first

6.2. Women are the first to be questioned and seen by Doctors even though ruling out the male's ability to reproduce first would be cost and time efficient

7. Access to knowledge depends on social class

7.1. Lower class families are often uneducated and do not have the same access to knowledge as upper and middle class families

7.2. Media plays a huge role in receiving proper knowledge on procedures and techniques

8. Knowledge from media is based on your social class rank

9. Religion serves a knowledge source for many Muslims in Egypt despite scientific knowledge