"Conceiving God's Children": Toward a Flexible Model of Reproductive Decision-Making.
Accepted version
Peer-reviewed
Repository URI
Repository DOI
Change log
Authors
Taragin-Zeller, Lea https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1886-4080
Abstract
Drawing on an ethnographic study of reproduction in Israel, in this article I demonstrate how Orthodox Jews delineate borders between the godly and the human in their daily reproductive practices. Exploring the multiple ways access to technology affects religious belief and observance, I describe three approaches to marital birth control, two of which are antithetical: steadfast resistance to and general acceptance of "calculated family planning." Seeking a middle road, the third model, "flexible decision-making," reveals how couples push off and welcome pregnancies simultaneously. Unravelling the illusion of a binary model of planned/unplanned parenthood, I call for nuanced models of reproductive decision-making.
Description
Keywords
Israel, Judaism, contraception, decision-making, religion, reproduction, Adult, Anthropology, Medical, Contraception, Decision Making, Female, Humans, Israel, Judaism, Male, Reproduction
Journal Title
Med Anthropol
Conference Name
Journal ISSN
0145-9740
1545-5882
1545-5882
Volume Title
38
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Publisher DOI
Rights
All rights reserved
Sponsorship
Hebrew University and Israeli Democracy Institute