Miscarriage of pregnancy is widely experienced and seldom discussed. Because of the surpassing silence on the subject, experiences of miscarriage may be misunderstood, difficult to articulate, and isolating, and attitudes toward miscarriage may be under-informed. Women are more likely to be offered cultural information on what to expect when we are expecting, than we are to be offered preparation for, or recognition of, the unexpected. Philosophers can, and should, contribute to changing that by promoting discourse on miscarriage as an experience which is meaningful, and significant to self-understanding and social awareness, and by providing a contextual realm in which related discussions of pregnancy, fertility loss, and fetal death could take place. The implications of reflections on the phenomenon of miscarriage for many lines of inquiry turn out to be multifold. To date, unfortunately, philosophers have not been central participants in theorizing about miscarriage, pregnancy loss, or fetal death outside of the confines of abortion debates. 1 We ought to be concerned about the risks of furthering the social and academic silence surrounding phenomena that so many have experienced, and that raise important questions regarding grief and loss, the social construction of pregnancy, technological developments, social recognition, and, to put it grandly, the nature of human life. As our contributors observe, one reason at least for the silence on miscarriage is obvious: addressing and conceptualizing the loss that is central to some (and not all) experiences of miscarriage may risk undermining some central principles of reproductive freedom. As feminist philosophers, we are certainly sympathetic to such concerns. We suggest that the riskiness of theorizing about miscarriage, and its implications for applied philosophical arguments with respect to abortion, seem to us to be compelling reasons why this issue is especially important to offer. The practice of philosophical investigation includes the social practices of cooperatively facing our reasons for ignoring some topics while devoting attention to related issues. Existing accounts of meaning in reproductive contexts-especially those put forward in debates concerning abortion-tend to focus on the (moral) status of the fetus. This is true even of relational accounts aimed at promoting reproductive autonomy by highlighting the ways in which the fetus is inseparable from the woman who carries it. It will probably not come as a surprise that we hope this issue on miscarriage, pregnancy loss, and fetal death accomplishes a shift this conversation, in the direction of pushing past embryo-centric value
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.