Una mirada crítica al turismo reproductivo

Abstract

This work aims to propose a critique about a growing phenomenon in the contemporary world of health care: reproductive tourism. It starts with some definitions of what is tourism. Later it analyses some interactions between tourism and health, both of health in tourism and tourism in health, so it is proposed that the concept "health tourism" is appropriate. It presents a typology of health tourism, whose type 4 corresponds to what it knows as "medical tourism". In turn, it proposes two typologies of what is medical tourism; the first one proposes 5 types; types 3 and 5 of this typology can be classified, according to the second typology, in 8 different types of medical tourism. Immediately addresses the issue of medical tourism, and the previous considerations are resumed to appreciate their complexity. Finally, it is proposed that reproductive tourism –particularly– and health tourism –in general– is a direct result of the globalization of the process of health–disease–care in a neoliberal world which assumes that health is just a service that is sold and bought as any other. Because of these considerations, health care, the State and ethics collide. Ethics is a condition necessary, but not enough, to the other two factors in collision.