Testing Women, Testing the Fetus: Difference between revisions
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''Testing Women, Testing the Fetus'' by [[Rayna Rapp]] is an award-winning analysis of the social repercussions of prenatal genetic testing. Rapp combines the data she collected herself with historical context of amniocentesis and genetic counseling to argue that amniocentesis and those abortions following positive test results is a social decision as much as an individual one.<ref name=":0" /> |
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== Background == |
== Background == |
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[[Rayna Rapp]] works as an anthropologist and activist for the [[New School for Social Research]], New York.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Mahowald|first=Mary B.|date=2004-01-01|title=Review of Prenatal Testing and Disability Rights, , ; Testing Women, Testing the Fetus: The Social Impact of Amniocentesis in America|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3811103|journal=Hypatia|volume=19|issue=3|pages=216–221}}</ref> According to Mary A. Mahowald, among others, it was Rapp's own experience with an abortion based upon prenatal testing and [[amniocentesis]] that became the genesis for her research in this area.<ref name=":0" /> The decision to do research on amniocentesis was based on Rapp's idea that it was "likely to remain the most reliably available technology for women[.]"<ref name=":0" /> Additionally, she focused primarily on prenatal testing for women in their 30's because a significant influence on prenatal testing of that population is for [[Down syndrome|Down's syndrome]], which was the diagnosis given during her own experience.<ref name=":0" /> |
[[Rayna Rapp]] works as an anthropologist and activist for the [[New School for Social Research]], New York.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Mahowald|first=Mary B.|date=2004-01-01|title=Review of Prenatal Testing and Disability Rights, , ; Testing Women, Testing the Fetus: The Social Impact of Amniocentesis in America|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3811103|journal=Hypatia|volume=19|issue=3|pages=216–221}}</ref> According to Mary A. Mahowald, among others, it was Rapp's own experience with an abortion based upon prenatal testing and [[amniocentesis]] that became the genesis for her research in this area.<ref name=":0" /> The decision to do research on amniocentesis was based on Rapp's idea that it was "likely to remain the most reliably available technology for women[.]"<ref name=":0" /> Additionally, she focused primarily on prenatal testing for women in their 30's because a significant influence on prenatal testing of that population is for [[Down syndrome|Down's syndrome]], which was the diagnosis given during her own experience.<ref name=":0" /> |
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== Synopsis == |
== Synopsis == |
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Testing Women, Testing the Fetus |
''Testing Women, Testing the Fetus'' explains the religious, cultural, racial, class, and scientific influences that impacted the decisions of mothers given positive prenatal diagnoses.<ref name=":0" /> These influences ranged from discussions with partners, or lack thereof, to miscommunications between doctors and patients during translation of "technical language into vernacular."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-415-91644-8|title=Nonfiction Book Review: Testing Women, Testing the Fetus: The Social Impact of Amniocentesis in America by Rayna Rapp, Author Routledge $47.95 (361p) ISBN 978-0-415-91644-8|work=PublishersWeekly.com|access-date=2017-04-17|language=en}}</ref> |
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Her project was focused around three primary arguments: that amniocentesis is a contributor to stratified reproduction; that scientific knowledge is used to enforce that stratified social structure; and that society needs to improve communication between the disabled community and the proponents of genetic testing.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://sarweb.org/?staley_2003_rapp|title=SAR—2003 J. I. Staley Prize—Testing Women, Testing the Fetus: The Social Impact of Amniocentesis in America|website=sarweb.org|language=en|access-date=2017-04-17}}</ref> |
Her project was focused around three primary arguments: that amniocentesis is a contributor to stratified reproduction; that scientific knowledge is used to enforce that stratified social structure; and that society needs to improve communication between the disabled community and the proponents of genetic testing.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://sarweb.org/?staley_2003_rapp|title=SAR—2003 J. I. Staley Prize—Testing Women, Testing the Fetus: The Social Impact of Amniocentesis in America|website=sarweb.org|language=en|access-date=2017-04-17}}</ref> |
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In her research, Rapp found that women who received a prenatal diagnosis of Down's syndrome were quicker to make the decision of whether to |
In her research, Rapp found that women who received a prenatal diagnosis of Down's syndrome were quicker to make the decision of whether to terminate the pregnancy or not than those who were given other, sometimes more severe diagnoses.<ref name=":0" /> She also discovered that there was a difference in abortion decisions between women with disability diagnoses and those made under other circumstances. Those who made the decision based on other circumstances generally made the decision to abort much earlier in the pregnancy than those with positive diagnoses, due to the fact that women in the latter half had actually intended to carry out the full pregnancy.<ref name=":0" /> |
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== Publishing and Editorial History == |
== Publishing and Editorial History == |
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Revision as of 18:20, 17 April 2017
Testing Women, Testing the Fetus by Rayna Rapp is an award-winning analysis of the social repercussions of prenatal genetic testing. Rapp combines the data she collected herself with historical context of amniocentesis and genetic counseling to argue that amniocentesis and those abortions following positive test results is a social decision as much as an individual one.[1]
Background
Rayna Rapp works as an anthropologist and activist for the New School for Social Research, New York.[1] According to Mary A. Mahowald, among others, it was Rapp's own experience with an abortion based upon prenatal testing and amniocentesis that became the genesis for her research in this area.[1] The decision to do research on amniocentesis was based on Rapp's idea that it was "likely to remain the most reliably available technology for women[.]"[1] Additionally, she focused primarily on prenatal testing for women in their 30's because a significant influence on prenatal testing of that population is for Down's syndrome, which was the diagnosis given during her own experience.[1]
Methodology of Research
Beginning with her own prenatal diagnosis experience in 1983 Rayna Rapp spent approximately 15 years conducting research on the effects and experiences of genetic testing on women.[2] Rapp used a method of research known as "participant observation" to gather data for this project.[1] For her, this meant interviewing women, geneticists, and obstetricians; visited laboratories, and prenatal testing centers; and worked alongside advocates for the disabled.[1]
Synopsis
Testing Women, Testing the Fetus explains the religious, cultural, racial, class, and scientific influences that impacted the decisions of mothers given positive prenatal diagnoses.[1] These influences ranged from discussions with partners, or lack thereof, to miscommunications between doctors and patients during translation of "technical language into vernacular."[3]
Her project was focused around three primary arguments: that amniocentesis is a contributor to stratified reproduction; that scientific knowledge is used to enforce that stratified social structure; and that society needs to improve communication between the disabled community and the proponents of genetic testing.[4]
In her research, Rapp found that women who received a prenatal diagnosis of Down's syndrome were quicker to make the decision of whether to terminate the pregnancy or not than those who were given other, sometimes more severe diagnoses.[1] She also discovered that there was a difference in abortion decisions between women with disability diagnoses and those made under other circumstances. Those who made the decision based on other circumstances generally made the decision to abort much earlier in the pregnancy than those with positive diagnoses, due to the fact that women in the latter half had actually intended to carry out the full pregnancy.[1]
Publishing and Editorial History
Testing Women, Testing the Fetus was first published in 1999.[5]
Reception/Awards
Testing Women, Testing the Fetus has been accepted into both the scientific and anthropological communities. Rapp's book was given numerous awards in 1999, including the Forsythe Book Prize, the Society for Medical Anthropology's Basker Book Prize and the American Ethnological Society's Senior Book Prize.[6] Additionally, Rapp was awarded the J. I. Staley Prize for "outstanding scholarship and writing in anthropology" in 2003.[4] A reviewer for Medical Anthropology Quarterly, Lynn Morgan, said that Rayna Rapp was "one of the most eloquent feminist anthropologists writing today."[4]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Mahowald, Mary B. (2004-01-01). "Review of Prenatal Testing and Disability Rights, , ; Testing Women, Testing the Fetus: The Social Impact of Amniocentesis in America". Hypatia. 19 (3): 216–221.
- ^ Cox, Susan M. (November–December 2001). "Testing Women, Testing the Fetus: The Social Impact of Amniocentesis in America". Canadian Journal of Sociology Online.
- ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: Testing Women, Testing the Fetus: The Social Impact of Amniocentesis in America by Rayna Rapp, Author Routledge $47.95 (361p) ISBN 978-0-415-91644-8". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
- ^ a b c "SAR—2003 J. I. Staley Prize—Testing Women, Testing the Fetus: The Social Impact of Amniocentesis in America". sarweb.org. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
- ^ "Testing women, testing the fetus - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
- ^ Franklin, Sarah; McKinnon, Susan (2001-01-01). Relative Values: Reconfiguring Kinship Studies. Duke University Press. ISBN 0822327961.