Testing Women, Testing the Fetus
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]
Research Style
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 is an 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] Her book 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 abort 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 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.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); External link in|dead-url=|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "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.