"Conceiving God's Children": Toward a Flexible Model of Reproductive Decision-Making

Medical Anthropology
Lea Taragin-Zeller

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.

References

Aug 23, 2000·The Journal of Clinical Investigation·B B Kahn, J S Flier
Nov 3, 2006·Maternal and Child Health Journal·Anne LifflanderCarol J Rowland Hogue
May 20, 2008·Culture, Health & Sexuality·Anne Esacove
Nov 26, 2008·Reproductive Health Matters·Daphna Birenbaum-Carmeli
Apr 19, 2011·Journal of Pediatric Urology·Charles Keys, Yves Heloury
Feb 26, 2016·Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry·Elly TemanHeela Goren
May 19, 2018·Reproductive Biomedicine & Society Online·Marcia C InhornZeynep B Gürtin

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Citations

Apr 5, 2021·Medical Anthropology Quarterly·Daphna Birenbaum-CarmeliPasquale Patrizio
Jun 18, 2021·Reproductive Biomedicine & Society Online·Marcia C Inhorn

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
contraception

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