Search

The Haredi (ultraorthodox Jewish) community in Israel presents distinct views on disability and prenatal testing compared to the pro-testing attitudes of the Israeli general public. Based on qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with Haredi parents of children with Down syndrome, this study explores the interplay between their personal experiences and community norms in the creation of views on disability and pregnancy management. The experiences of life with disability carry varied positive and negative aspects, for both secular and religious parents. However, while this variability sometimes led to re-consideration (for better or worse) of views on disability and prenatal testing among secular parents, we demonstrate that parenting a child with disability did not change the views of Haredi parents regarding the futility of prenatal testing and the value of disability. For them, the Haredi model of disability remained the dominant framework through which life is experienced. While the Israeli general public is supportive of tests performed during pregnancy with the aim of selective terminations of pregnancies when anomalies in the fetus are detected, the most religious Jewish (Haredi) community tends to avoid such testing. The study demonstrates the interplay between cultural norms and personal experiences in forming attitudes toward disability. For Haredi parents, life with a child with Down syndrome did not essentially change their positive perceptions of disability and their rejection of testing the fetus in future pregnancies. Haredi parents' critical view of testing during pregnancy reflects their religious perspective, rather than the perspective of people with disabilities and their empowerment. Haredi parents view children with Down syndrome as 'higher souls' sent by God as a test of faith and a mission, thus constructing testing the fetus for Down syndrome as futile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vasectomy is considered a permanent form of contraception for men that can help reduce reproductive inequality. Its underutilisation in the context of the threats it may pose to perceptions of traditional masculinity has been closely investigated, but the lived experience of the procedure itself has been largely overlooked. This paper examines the experience of having a vasectomy in Israel, focusing on the recommended form of anaesthesia. Drawing on 15 semi-structured interviews with Israeli men who have experienced vasectomy, we found that the choice of anaesthesia has a significant impact on the meaning and experience of vasectomy. Unlike the widespread use of local anaesthesia during vasectomy in other countries, vasectomy in Israel is performed almost exclusively under twilight sedation administered intravenously. Based on our findings, we argue that framing vasectomy as an operation that requires sedation is related to views of masculinity and reproduction. Our data suggest that vasectomy in Israel is constituted as a potentially traumatic event, and anaesthesia is employed to protect patients from feelings of embarrassment and discomfort. We conclude that the prevailing method of sedation perpetuates the silencing and marginalisation of vasectomy as a contraceptive method, and consequently, its very limited accessibility in Israel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, egg freezing has evolved from being an experimental medical technology to become a commercial enterprise, accompanied by heated feminist debate. This study examined the views of Danish and Israeli female students regarding the financing of social egg freezing (SEF) (self, state, employer or family), and their correlation with country and feminist identity. A total of 569 female students (283 from Denmark and 286 from Israel) completed a questionnaire composed of closed and opened-ended questions on SEF financing under different circumstances (e.g. career advancement, lack of a partner, lack of money). The majority of female students in both countries supported SEF self-financing. They wanted to keep fertility choices in the private domain, in part by separating the bodies of women from the state and the employer. We conclude that SEF exemplifies a neoliberal and gendered responsibilisation of women's reproductive futurity, yet self-identification as a feminist was found to be correlated with stronger support for state financing. In contrast, we found no correlation between feminist identity and support for company-sponsored egg freezing. Our findings suggest a relationship between holding a feminist worldview and public policy preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9566.2008.01105.x Byline: Yael Hashiloni-Dolev (1), Noga Weiner (2) Keywords: genetic counselling; fetal status; Israel; Germany; new reproductive technologies Abstract: Abstract This paper reports findings from a comparative study of Israeli and German genetic counsellors' perceptions of the moral standing of the fetus. Data collected through in-depth interviews with counsellors in both countries (N=32) are presented, and their moral practices are analysed. The paper's findings suggest that while German counsellors perceive the fetus as an autonomous being and debate the particular biological stages through which this autonomy is acquired; Israeli counsellors do not consider the moral status of the fetus independently of its relations with its family hence, deploying a 'relational ethics'. It is suggested that these differences are influenced by historical, political, legal, and religious traditions in Germany and Israel regarding abortions and the fetus. It is concluded that the deployment of a 'biological ethics' by German counsellors reproduces the model of fetal developmental stages (in itself a construction), and hence goes hand in hand with perceptions of the fetus as a 'life', and thus as the bearer of autonomous rights which are understood to contradict those of its mother. On the other hand, the rejection of 'biological ethics' by Israeli counsellors enables a perception of fetuses that is first and foremost defined by their relationships with others. Author Affiliation: (1)School of Government and Society, The Academic College of Tel-Aviv-Yaffo, Israel (2)Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel Article note: Address for correspondence: Yael Hashiloni-Dolev, School of Government and Society, The Academic College of Tel-Aviv-Yaffo, Rabenu Yeruham 14, Yaffo 68114, Israel e-mail: yaelhash@mta.ac.il

This paper discusses the policy debate and ethical discussion surrounding pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for sibling donor (SD) in Germany and israel. Based on an analysis of the regulations and ethical discourse concerning a unique form of new reproductive technology (NRT)--PGD for SD--we complement the scholarly discussion of NRTs in these countries, by pointing to an explanatory factor that has been so far neglected, namely the hegemonic notions regarding the ideal relationship between the generations, and the mutual obligations between different family members in Germany and Israel. We argue the fact that PGD (in general) and PGD for SD (in particular) have been banned in Germany, but were endorsed without hesitation in Israel, has to do with different perceptions of family ethics within the two societies. Furthermore, we argue that this factor contributes significantly to the more general understanding of German and Israeli policies regarding NRTs. Keywords: Israel; Germany; Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD); Sibling donor (SD); Family ethics; New reproductive technologies (NRTs)

A novel family created by the confluence of single motherhood by choice and posthumous reproduction, one we term – a Single Mother Ghost Father family, may become a commonly available reproductive route in Israel under a recently submitted bill. This is the first empirical research looking at this now-rare family structure from within. Based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with 9 single women who chose to establish a Single Mother Ghost Father family, this preliminary study chronicles their journey from the nuclear family they had initially envisioned to the Single Mother Ghost Father family they decided to establish, explores what motivated them, and conceptualizes different notions of family, motherhood, and fatherhood. The findings demonstrate that constructing this family not only allows the mothers to display the appearance of a normative nuclear family, without explicitly challenging traditional patriarchal impositions, but also to subvert them as they preserve full control of the family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA collection raises ethical, legal, and social issues around privacy, consent, participatory science, benefits and risks, biodata governance, and, ultimately, trust. While there is a consensus that DNA biobanks' success depends on public trust, more evidence is needed regarding the determinants, production, and preservation of such trust. We draw on 14 semi-structured interviews with participants – seven people who donated DNA to an Israeli biobank, and seven who refused to donate; as well as on two focus groups with members of the general public. Our findings call into question the relationship between trust/trustworthiness and donation, suggesting moral strategies termed by respondents as "donating with eyes shut." We conclude by discussing how DNA donation is built on a mixture of attitudes combining criticism, optimism, resistance, and avoiding responsibility as a pragmatic solution to the unresolved conflicts in sharing one's DNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]