How thick is blood? The Biopolitics of Citizenship Transmission for Non-coital Birth in EU Member States

The increase in diverse families combined with advances in assisted reproductive technologies brings to the fore a complex set of questions related to the linkages between reproductive governance, citizenship, and conceptions of nationhood. How does the governance of reproductive rights shape the composition of the body politic? Who and under what conditions can be recognised as future citizens in cases of non-coital birth? This article first develops the concept of the ‘biopolitics of citizenship’ to discuss how the governance of reproductive rights either contests or reproduces the idea of the nation that has traditionally been rooted in the heteronormative ideal of the nuclear family. Second, through an exploration of how of biomedical laws (alternative reproductive technology and surrogacy), establishment of parentage legislation, and the rules on citizenship acquisition interact, we show the ways in which the regulation of human reproduction is embedded in decisions about who becomes a part of the political community in EU Member States.