TY - JOUR
T1 - 'Because of the risks'
T2 - How US pregnant women account for refusing prenatal screening
AU - Markens, Susan
AU - Browner, C. H.
AU - Press, Nancy
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported in part by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development grant #HD11994 and grants from the Academic Senate and Chicano Research Center at the University of California, Los Angeles. Beatriz Soliz provided invaluable assistance during the periods of data collection, coding and entry. The authors would also like to thank the administration and staff of the HMO for facilitating the project and making their clinics available to us. We are also grateful for the thoughtful feedback given on earlier drafts by Elaine Gerber and Christine Morton. Lastly, we would like to acknowledge the women who so willingly participated in the study.
PY - 1999/8
Y1 - 1999/8
N2 - Most research on prenatal fetal testing in general, and maternal alpha- fetoprotein (AFP) screening in particular, has focused on women who accept and even actively seek prenatal diagnosis. Much of this work suggests that agreeing to prenatal diagnosis is inextricably linked to the processes associated with the 'medicalization' of reproduction and that most women do not see refusal as an option. In contrast, little attention has been paid to women who decline fetal diagnosis. Instead, it is generally assumed that women who do so are resisting this thrust toward medicalization and/or are opposed to abortion. Our research is designed to address this imbalance. We analyze how a group of US women who refused the offer of AFP screening account for their decisions and compare their explanations with those of women who took the test. Contrary to our expectations, we found that refusal did not signify rejection of and/or resistance to the offerings of science and technology. Rather, women who refused often employed biomedical categories, particularly the concept of 'risk', to reject its very offerings. Furthermore, refusers and acceptors were more alike than different in their views on abortion, medicalization and pregnancy. We conclude that the key difference between the two groups lies in their interpretation and application of biomedical concepts and modern risk-assessment.
AB - Most research on prenatal fetal testing in general, and maternal alpha- fetoprotein (AFP) screening in particular, has focused on women who accept and even actively seek prenatal diagnosis. Much of this work suggests that agreeing to prenatal diagnosis is inextricably linked to the processes associated with the 'medicalization' of reproduction and that most women do not see refusal as an option. In contrast, little attention has been paid to women who decline fetal diagnosis. Instead, it is generally assumed that women who do so are resisting this thrust toward medicalization and/or are opposed to abortion. Our research is designed to address this imbalance. We analyze how a group of US women who refused the offer of AFP screening account for their decisions and compare their explanations with those of women who took the test. Contrary to our expectations, we found that refusal did not signify rejection of and/or resistance to the offerings of science and technology. Rather, women who refused often employed biomedical categories, particularly the concept of 'risk', to reject its very offerings. Furthermore, refusers and acceptors were more alike than different in their views on abortion, medicalization and pregnancy. We conclude that the key difference between the two groups lies in their interpretation and application of biomedical concepts and modern risk-assessment.
KW - Maternal serum alpha fetoprotein
KW - Medicalization of reproduction
KW - Prenatal screening
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U2 - 10.1016/S0277-9536(99)00097-0
DO - 10.1016/S0277-9536(99)00097-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 10414820
AN - SCOPUS:0033015696
SN - 0277-9536
VL - 49
SP - 359
EP - 369
JO - Social Science and Medicine
JF - Social Science and Medicine
IS - 3
ER -