I’ve been following the Feministe thread about a little girl with a parasitic twin. The discussion meandered into a wrangling about whether or not a fetus can be thought about as a parasite.
Coincidentally, the BBC now reports on new research out of Reading: “Placenta ‘fools body’s defences’ “. Fetal cells should, logically, elicit a ‘not-self’ immune response from the mother. A maternal immune response to the fetus can result in miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, or other pregnancy complications; but why don’t these complications happen every time? These researchers found that the fetus evades the mother’s immune system with a chemical cloaking device – in almost exactly the same way that worms do. The placenta contains a protein surface molecule very similar to the substance that protects nematodes from their host’s immune system.
How much this has to do with the actual issue of reproductive justice is pretty darn debatable, but the science is cool.