People Conceived through Artificial Insemination by Donor (AID) as “Actors”:

An Analysis of Japanese Newspaper Articles

Abstract

Artificial Insemination by Donor (AID) has been performed in secret in Japan for about 50 years. However, we have recently seen an increasing number of problems regarding the welfare of people conceived through AID. The aim of this paper, which uses a social constructionist approach, is to clarify how these people became “claims-making actors.” By analyzing newspaper articles, it was found that Japanese newspapers forced donor offspring to become “actors” who had to go through the newspapers to claim the right to know their origin. Also, the paper suggests, newspapers in Japan both perform the social function and possess the political power to set agendas for the society as a whole.