Pregnancy and piety: The situated ethics of prenatal diagnostic technologies for ultra-orthodox Jewish women

Elly Teman, Tsipy Ivry

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

In this anthropological study we explore the attitudes, experiences and decisions of Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women regarding prenatal diagnosis and testing (PND). The analysis is based on 49 in-depth interviews with Haredi mothers in Israel and the United States from a variety of Ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities. We look at the way our interviewees employed faith-based concepts in explaining their decisions regarding PND, including faith, certainty, obligatory effort, and tests of faith. We suggest that the women's negotiations of PND can be conceptualized as a form of "situated ethics" that may be viewed as a gendered folk interpretation and vernacular religious application of Jewish ethics.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Oxford Handbook of Religious Perspectives on Reproductive Ethics
PublisherOxford University Press
Pages477-497
Number of pages21
ISBN (Electronic)9780190633219
ISBN (Print)9780190633202
DOIs
StatePublished - 19 Sep 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Oxford University Press 2024. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Gender
  • Orthodox Jewish women
  • Pregnancy
  • Prenatal diagnosis
  • Prenatal testing

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Arts and Humanities

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