Infertility and Moral Luck: The Politics of Women

Infertility and Moral Luck: The Politics of Women Blaming Themselves for Infertility
Author(s): Carolyn McLeod and Julie Ponesse
Source: International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics, Vol. 1, No. 1, Doing
Feminist Bioethics (Spring, 2008), pp. 126-144
Published by: Indiana University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40339215 .
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INFERTILITY AND MORAL LUCK:
THE POLITICS OF WOMEN BLAMING THEMSELVES FOR
INFERTILITY
Carolyn McLeod and Julie Ponesse
Abstract
can be an agonizingexperience,
Infertility
especiallyforwomen.And,much
of theagonyhas to do withluck:withhow unluckyone is in beinginfertile,
whether
one can weatherthe
and in howmuchluckis involvedin determining
stormofinfertility
and perhapshavea childin theend.We arguethatbad luck
associatedwithbeinginfertile
is oftenbad moralluckforwomen.Theinfertile
womanoftenblamesherselfor is blamedbyothersforwhatis happeningto
whatis happening
to her.Shehas
her,evenwhenshecannotcontrolor prevent
womenand show
ofinfertile
simplyhad bad luck.We focuson theself-blame
howitstemsfrompro-natalism
thattargets
women.We also arguethatoverall
thanself-blame.
forwomen,regret
is a bettermoralresponseto infertility
and inbad reproductive
suchas unwantedpregnancy
experiences,
has
bad
of
luck.
luck
often
are
or
the
result
Such
fertility, partly wholly
lose moral
moraleffects,
in thatpeopleare blamedforitor moregenerally,
Illi: INTIKWTIONAI
.101 KNAI Ol IKMIMS I AI'I'KOACIIKS TO BIOKTIIICS
Vol. 1,No 1 (SPRING2008) © 2008
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CAROLYN MCLEOD AND JULIE PONESSE
127
becauseofit.Moreover,
thesepeoplearemorelikelytobe womenthan
standing
moraleffects
men:womenaremorelikelytosuffer
frombad reproducnegative
fromwhatwecallbad reproductive
tiveluckorin otherwords,tosuffer
"moral
literature
aboutinfertility,
luck."2
butalso on philoDrawingon psychological
work
on
and
we
examine
these
claimsusing
luck,
blame,
sophical
responsibility,
In so doing,we hope to add important
discussion
thetest-caseofinfertility.
which
hashithtofeminist
aboutluckand itsmoraleffects
ethics,
reproductive
on reproductive
ertofocusedalmostexclusively
choice,payinglittleattention
lamentedthefactthatmanywomenhavelittle
to luck.Feministshaverightly
mentionthatthe
controlovertheirreproductive
lives;butrarelydo feminists
which
is worsefor
is
often
bad
moral
luckforthesewomen
luck,
accompanying
womenthanmerely
lackingcontrol.
haveignored
totheclaimthatfeminists
Onenotableexception
reproductive
s workonwhatrisks"canwomenbe askedtobear"
moralluckisDonnaDickenson
decihealthcare,giventhattheoutcomesofriskyreproductive
in reproductive
sionscan be morally
unlucky(2003).Butwe dealwithmoralluckmorebroadly
thanDickensondoes.Forweincludemoralluckthatconcernsnottheoutcomes
thatpeoplefacemoregenerally.
butthecircumstances
ofpeople'sriskydecisions,
inferis
the
moral
luckthataccompanies
luck
An exampleofsuchcircumstantial
itself
is nota productofan agent'schoices.
whentheinfertility
tility
about
conversation
an in-depth
this
with
paper,wehopetoinitiate
Generally,
we wantto
luckon women.Morespecifically,
ofreproductive
themoraleffects
forinblamethemselves
persuadereadersofthefactthatwomenoftenmorally
and
causeoftheinfertility,
relevant
a morally
eventhoughtheyarerarely
fertility,
as women.
tiedto theiroppression
is intimately
thattheirself-blame
moreover,
tohow
wealsorefer
forinfertility,
howwomenblamethemselves
Whendiscussing
of
isan extreme
otherpeopleblamethem.Blameforinfertility
example reproducthateducatedwomen,
andtosomepeople,itwillseemfarfetched
tivemoralluck;3
becauseit
suchblame.Wefocusonblameforinfertility
inparticular,
experience
luck
is for
moral
the
issue
of
how
serious
it
shows
and
extreme
is
reproductive
women.
wedescribetheluckinvolved
ofthepaperis as follows:
Thestructure
first,
thisluckas
inbeinginfertile;
second,we explainwhymanywomenexperience
this
as blame);and third,we assesswhether
moralluck(andmorespecifically,
is
bad
or
moralluckis alwaysbad luckand also whenregretaboutinfertility
whenluckis bothmoralandbad is to
thepointofidentifying
good.In general,
ofblamethatareunfairandpotentially
revealpatterns
morallydamaging.Our
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128 J7n£>t**€ad€>*™Z<fc*4*™*lw FEMINISTAPPROACHES
TO <^£«d**£L* 1:1
ofthissortthatnegatively
affect
thelivesof
analysisexposescommonpatterns
infertile
women.
Luck in beinginfertile
So muchofwhathappensduringtheexperience
is whollyor
ofinfertility
inbeing
thatis,itis a matter
ofluck.One is unlucky
partlybeyondone'scontrol;
infertile.4
Butone is also eitherunluckyorluckywhenitcomestobeingableto
acton a preference
forassistedreproduction
oradoption,to havinga relationtohaving
thepressures
ofinfertility,
shipwithone'spartnerthatcan withstand
and so on. Thereare generaland overlapping
supportivefriendsand family,
formsofluckthatoccurforinfertile
andthat
peopleinsofaras theyareinfertile
are based on biologicalor social factsaboutinfertility,
treatments,
infertility
andadoption.Theseforms
person,
mayormaynotappearas lucktotheinfertile
whomightviewtheminsteadas productsofherwill.
We focusthisdiscussionon theluckthatentersintoinfertility,
and espeon
what
we
call
we
the
luckof
luck."5
concentrate
on
Further,
cially
"biological
forwomenand on caseswherethisluckis bad.Theluckofbeing
beinginfertile
infertile
is oftenbad forwomen,becauseoftheintensity
withwhichwomen
tendto wanttobearchildrenor feeltheneedto do so (forreasonsthatcan includeavoidingsocialostracism
orevendeath).Ofcourse,somewomendo not
havethisdesire(i.e.,to bearchildrenorbearmorechildren).
We accept,given
suchcases,thattheluckofbeinginfertile
be
bad
for
women
andinfact,
not
may
canbe good,foritcanprotect
womenfromunwanted
Nonetheless,
pregnancies.
we assumethatsuchluckforwomenis usuallybad.
Someoftheluckassociatedwithinfertility
is intimately
connected
toone's
and
more
to
of
it
that
one
can
do
little
to
biology
specifically, aspects
nothing
about.Themostobviousinstanceofsuchbiologicalluckis theluckinvolvedin
instanceis thebadluckofexperiencing
serious
(A further
simply
beinginfertile.
sideeffects
frominfertility
thatis,ifonepursuessuchtreatments.)6
treatments,
- we
becauseofluckthatis notpurelybiological
Althoughone can be infertile
later
the
luck
involved
in
will
infertile
be
giveexamples
being
always partly
biological.7
is biologicalluck.
Peopleoftenfailto recognizehowmuchbeinginfertile
adhere
to
the
belief
that
stress
causes
(Weschler
2002)
They
pervasive
infertility
and thatifa womansimplyrelaxesor stopsworrying
aboutgetting
pregnant,
thenshewillgetpregnant.
"Go on vacation,""stopworkingso hard,""adopta
Butin reality,
stressmaynot
baby":eachoftheseis supposedto cureinfertility.
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CAROLYN MCLEOD AND JULIE PONESSE
129
thedata on whetherit is a cause are inconclusive
be a cause of infertility;
et
al.
thereare commoncauses ofinfertility
thathave
Also,
2007).
(Homan
with
stress
or
with
over
to
do
obsessing
pregnancy.
Examplesinclude
nothing
certainchromosomal
and congenital
anomalies
endometriosis,
abnormalities,
Weederand O'Connor2006).Thesearephysical
ofthecervixanduterus(Kellyforwhichtheinfertile
causesofinfertility
personcannotbe responsible.
from
behavioral
causesorlifestyle
factors.
also
can
result
People
Infertility
that
forinfertility
factors
couldbe partially
withtherelevant
responsible
lifestyle
forit(i.e.,in thesense
fromthem,buttheycouldnotbe fullyresponsible
results
factors
becausetheselifestyle
ofhavingcausedtheinfertility),
onlymakeinfertility
init
inevitable.
How
a lifestyle
factor
rather
than
to
morelikely occur,
rendering
will
whichmeansthatanyresulting
withone'sbiologymatters,
teracts
infertility
factors
forinfertility
include
lucktosomedegree.Lifestyle
ofbiological
be a matter
andsexualbehavior
thatputs
ofweight,
extremes
smoking,
delayedchildbearing,
and
infection
such
as
a
oneatriskforcertain
infections,
(Kelly-Weeder
chlamydial
O'Connor2006;Homanetal. 2007).
factor
witha lifestyle
is connected
Weassumethatwomenwhoseinfertility
Tobe responsible
ina moralsensefortheirinfertility.
ifever,responsible
arerarely,
andmoreover,
inthissense,theywouldhavetohavechosentherelevant
lifestyle,
toassumethattheyappreciated
itwouldhavetobe reasonable
(oratleastshould
In theiruseoftheterm
fromthislifestyle.
theriskofinfertility
haveappreciated)
factors
stemfrom
medicalresearchers
factors,"
implythattherelevant
"lifestyle
Researchthe
case.
is
not
thanfromluck,which
rather
necessarily
people'schoices,
thatare,orwereonce,
andcircumstances
as "behaviours
factors
ersdefine
lifestyle
to [in]fertility"
factor
andcan be a contributing
modifiable
(Homanetal. 2007).
are
modifiable
that
factors
Butlifestyle
(notrealistically)
produce
onlytheoretically
onlybadluck(Homanetal. 2007,12).Forexample,assumingthatpsychological
thatallpeoplerealstressis notsomething
factor
forinfertility,
stressis a lifestyle
thatareboth
in
circumstances
live
some
because
can
people
istically modify,
were
oncemodifithat
factors
and
unavoidable.
stressful
Also,lifestyle
profoundly
the
behaviors
not
know
that
becausethepersondid
able,yetwerenotmodified
createbadluckforher,thatis,ifshebewillsimply
forinfertility,
wereriskfactors
Sheisnotmorally
behaviors.
these
of
as
a
result
comesinfertile
responsible
partly
Weassume
herfertility.
affect
her
behavior
that
have
known
not
could
ifshe
might
in
whentheybehave waysthatmight
thatmostwomenareina stateofignorance
becausemostwomenwouldnotintentionally
theirfertility,
comprocompromise
misetheirfertility.
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130 <¥,r£eirt**/*<>*i*t/
TO <^£w>^L*
AW FEMINISTAPPROACHES
<7*A*+t+*a/
1:1
forlifestyle-related
a womanwouldbemorally
however,
Perhaps,
responsible
ifshesimply
herbehavior
todecrease
shouldhaveknownhowtomodify
infertility
And
In short,
shesimply
shouldhaveknownbetter.
herriskofbecoming
infertile.
ofluck.Weusuallysay
wouldnotbejusta matter
ifthatistrue,thenherinfertility
whentheyfailtoknowwhatisdeemedto
thatpeople"shouldhaveknownbetter"
thatleaving
itiscommonknowledge
be commonknowledge.
(Forexample,
young
someonewhodoesso shouldhave
nearwateris dangerous;
children
unattended
So thequestionofwhether
knowbetter.)
knownbetter,
evenifshedidnotactually
comes
known
better
shouldhave
essentially
infertility
peoplewithlifestyle-related
We
arecommonknowledge.
thelifestyle
factors
forinfertility
downtowhether
a
task
we
cannotprovethattheyarenotcommonknowledge
(such
everywhere
moral
in
women's
who
are
interested
leaveto feminist
reproductive
sociologists
inandrumorsoftensurround
luck),butwecan saythis:givenhowmanymyths
causeit(Weschler
thatpurportedly
andthelifestyles
2002,Kaler2007),8
fertility
factors
withinscienceaboutwhatarethetruelifestyle
andalsogivenuncertainty
caffeine
and
now
about
whether
stress
forinfertility
consump(e.g.,uncertainty
are
doubtthatthesefactors
Homanetal. 2007),wesincerely
tionaresuchfactors:
ofus
forthisessay,neither
orevencouldbe widelyknown.Before
doingresearch
factors
for
nowconsidertobe thelifestyle
evenunderstood
whatmostscientists
our
underwas
we
ethics!
One
exception
infertility,
though studyreproductive
Butanecdotalevidence
can causeinfertility.
standingthatdelayedchildbearing
ofpregnancies
among40-to45-yearoldwomenleadsus towonderhowmuchof
a delayisproblematic.
iseven
wequestion
whether
Moreover,
delayed
childbearing
a choiceformanywomen,
that
the
often
or
is
delay
financially professionally
given
In summary
because
thatwomenwhoareinfertile
then,weareskeptical
necessary.
oflifestyle
factors
canbe heldmorally
fortheirinfertility.
responsible
Thisdiscussionoflifestyle
factors
revealsthatformsofluck
forinfertility
otherthanbiological
onescancontribute
toone'sinfertility.
Thebadluckofbeing
infertile
becauseofa certainlifestyle
willbe notonlybadbiologicalluck,butalso
badluckinbeingeither
stuckwithcertainlifestyles
(unchosen
ones)orembedded
in societiesthatdo not properlyeducatepeople about potentialcauses of
infertility.
Thebad luckthatgoesintobeinginfertile
is partofthelivedexperience
of
formanypeople.Consider
thatangerisa commonresponse
toinfertility
infertility
toassumethatthe
2004,44),anditis notunreasonable
(Greil1997,1682;Sherrod
comes
from
a
sense
of
unfairness:
that
one
is
infertile
when
so manyother
anger
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CAROLYN MCLEOD AND JULIE PONESSE
131
can conceivewhentheywant,or
people- someofwhomhave"risky"
lifestylesworse,byaccident!
a keyaspectof
Biologicalluck,alongwithotherformsofluck,is therefore
Andas wewillsee,suchluck,insofaras itresultsin infertility,
can be
infertility.
forwomen.Ofcourse,wedo notbelievethatinfertility
istheonly
moral,especially
wheretheluckofhavingthecondition
canbe moralluckto
biologicalcondition
becausepeopleareblamedforthecondition
oraretreated
somedegree,either
as
would
inferior
becauseofit.(Anystigmatized
condition
thoughtheyweremorally
is
one
a
feminist
exfitthisdescription.)
example,
specifically
Infertility
though
that
often
manifests
itself
as
moral
luck.
of
bad
luck
ample,
biological
Moralluck in beinginfertile:
Womenblamingthemselves
isoftenmoral
luckofbeinginfertile
Wehaveclaimedthatthebadbiological
fortheinferluckforwomenbecausetheytake,oraregiven,moralresponsibility
and
"other-blame"
in
self-blame
(blame
byothers)
experience
Theyengage
tility.
whichfocusespredominantly
women.Ourargument,
as theyareinfertile
insofar
on self-blame,
requiresthatwe clarifythemeaningsofcertainmoralterms,
andblame.
namelymoralluck,responsibility,
a significant
Thomas
to
aspectofwhatsomeone
Nagel,"[w]here
According
totreathimin that
continue
we
his
doesdependson factors
control,
yet
beyond
luck"(1993,59).In
moral
can
called
it
be
respectas an objectofmoraljudgment,
thatis,
luck"makesa moraldifference":
otherwords,moralluckoccurswhenever
ofa persons actionsortoherstatusas a goodorbadperson
tothemoralevaluation
towhomtheluckdoesoroughtto
doesnotspecify
(Latus2005).Thisexplanation
luckcouldmakea moraldifferthat
moral
We assume
makea moraldifference.
becauseofhowthesepeople
socialgrouporculture,
enceonlytopeopleofa certain
For
havebeensocializedto thinkaboutmorality
(oraboutwomenor fertility).
women
for
difference
a
moral
makes
infertile
of
luck
the
instance,
many
being
becauseofthepro-natalism
theyface,as we willdiscuss.Buttheluckmaynot
aroundthesewomen,someofwhom(hopeforeveryone
makea moraldifference
the
for
them
blame
will
not
Still,wecallthisluck"moralluck."It
infertility.
fully)
ifonlyfromsomeperspectivesand forsome
does makea moraldifference,
people.9
indifferent
sensesandtheterm"blame"in
Weusetheterm"responsibility"
causalandmoralresponbetween
wedistinguish
sense.In particular,
a particular
for
certain
outcomeswithoutbeing
be
can
causallyresponsible
People
sibility.
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132 ^itei+na/to+Kt/
TO (&t*>4>//ii^ 1:1
&w**t**£w FEMINISTAPPROACHES
forthem.Theyarecausallyresponsible
ifthrough
theirown
responsible
morally
or process),they
action(versusthroughsomeinvoluntary
bodilymovement
But
about
the
relevant
outcomes
1992,
138).
(Mackenzie
theyarenotmorbrought
theseoutcomes
if
salient
about
there
is
that
is
morally
allyresponsible
nothing
orabout
harmed
as
a
result)
anyonebeing
(e.g.,abouta doorbeingopenedwithout
theirintentions
(e.g.,theydidnotdesireto hurtsomeonebyopeningthedoor).
- those
- someonewasharmed
aremorally
salient
eveniftheoutcomes
Moreover,
forit,becausethey
whocausedtheharmstillmightnotbe morallyresponsible
in
to
have
known,aboutthepomightnothaveknown,andwerenot a position
thatpeotential
harm.Unlikecausalresponsibility,
moralresponsibility
requires
aware
that
were
have
a
moral
dimension
to
them
and
actions
they
ple's
(obviously)
theaction.
whenperforming
orshouldhavebeenawareofthisdimension
In addition,we briefly
sensesofmoralresponsibility,
mentiondifferent
- owning
includingwhatClaudiaCardcallsthe"creditsenseofresponsibility
ornot
causeofsomething's
happening
up tohavingbeenthe(morally)relevant
the
"administrawhat
she
labels
the
credit
for
it"
and
(blame)
happening,
taking
tiveormanagerial
senseofresponsibilitytosizeup andorganize
undertaking
possibilitiescomprehensively,
decidingwhichshouldbe realizedand how"
senseofresponsibility,
thecreditsense,is "backward-look(1996,28).Thefirst
it
looks
back
to
who
was
the
cause
of
ing":
something's
happeningandwhowas
toblameforit.Bycontrast,
thesecondsenseis "forward-looking":
itlooksforwardto whowillmanagea situationthatneedsmanaging.Each oftheabove
- causalresponsibility,
forms
ofresponsibility
inthecredit
moralresponsibility
and
in
moral
the
sense
in
sense,
responsibility
managerial
figure ourdiscussionofthemoralluckthatwomenfacebecauseofbeinginfertile.
Theblameassociatedwiththecreditsenseofresponsibility
is moralblame,
whichis also thekindofblamewe focuson. Blamemaynotalwaysbe moralin
forforgetting
to puta cartonofmilk
kind;forexample,I mightblamemyself
backin therefrigerator
ifthemilkgoesbad,butI do notexperience
thisblame
as a moralreprimand.
Blameofa moralkindusuallypromptsnegativemoral
suchas guilt,shame,or feelingthatone has letpeopledown.Byconfeelings,
blame
forlettingthemilkgo bad wouldnormallyonlygeneratedisaptrast,
or perhapsfrustration,
neitherofwhicharenecessarily
moralfeelpointment
to blamebelow (e.g.,to whetherwomengenuinelyblame
ings.In referring
themselves
forinfertility),
we meanmoralblame.
Womencouldtakeresponsibility
fortheirinfertility
in anyoftheabove
senses:theycouldsimplyassumethattheyarecausallyresponsible
forit,they
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CAROLYN MCLEOD AND JULIE PONESSE
133
forit,or theycouldtakeresponsibility
couldblamethemselves
formanaging
in themanagerial
it.Oftenwomen,as opposedtomen,takeresponsibility
sense
forinfertility.
Forexample,theyaremorelikelythanmento"seekoutinformaandto"initiate
treatment"
forit(Greil1997).Whatprobtionaboutinfertility"
women
become
is theirdesire
managersofinfertility
ablyexplainswhymany
ofa sexist
whichtendstobe stronger
thanmen's,orinfluence
tohavechildren,
culturethatas muchdeliversthemessagethatwomenarereand pro-natalist
as itdoes thatwomenare to blameforit.
sponsibleforovercoming
infertility
forinfertility
without
Noticethatwomencan assumemanagerial
responsibility
for
it
as
can
work
to
solvea
or
credit
causal
responsibility (just anyone
taking
in
a
relevant
sense
or
Heterosexual
did
not
that
cause, morally
not).
problem s/he
do even
morethantheirmalepartners
womenprobably
managetheirinfertility
whenthewomenrecognizethattheyarenotto blamefortheinfertility.
focuseson how,or moreimportantly
Our argument,
whether,
however,
whether
in
credit
sense:
that
for
the
womentakeresponsibility infertility
is,
they
forit.Ouraimis toshowthatself-blame
blamethemselves
amongwomenforinis commonas
wediscussreasonswhyother-blame
is common,although
fertility
we also revealwhytheyblame
well.In showingthatwomenblamethemselves,
ofwomen.10
withtheoppression
wherethe"why"is connected
themselves,
makessensetous thatmanywomenwouldblamethemselves
Itintuitively
and in so doing,pointtoanynumberofpossiblecausesforit:not
forinfertility
out,"havinga bad diet,having
properly,
beingtoo"stressed
timingintercourse
and so on. Thesemay
a pastabortion,
havingengagedin riskysexualbehavior,
or iftheyare,thewoman
notbe truecausesofa woman'sinfertility,
however,
that
have
known
not
could
not
(and
theywouldcompromiseher
easily)
may
fortheinfertility,
be
she
while
which
in
case,
may causallyresponsible
fertility,
be blamedforit.As suggested
shecouldnotlegitimately
above,most,ifnotall,
areeithermerely
forinfertility
womenwhoblamethemselves
causallyresponforitat all. Theonlyclearexception
sibleforitor arenotcausallyresponsible
butthenchanged
chosetobe sterilized,
wouldbe a womanwhoautonomously
for
blameherself
Shecouldrightfully
hermindaboutwantingto getpregnant.
herchancesofgetundermined
and freely
sincesheknowingly
beinginfertile,
howfor
to
themselves
not
blame
Most
women
infertility,
ought
tingpregnant.
it
do
ever;yetthey
anyway.
Butone could legitimately
ask,"Do womentrulyblamethemselvesfor
forit,fromwhichitcould
ordo theyjustsaythattheyareresponsible
infertility,
forit?"Forthreereasons,wethink
followthattheyareonlycausallyresponsible
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134 ,j£*aW#«/i»#*«^r^#**W'rOF
FEMINIST
APPROACHES
TO(£tw//itns1:1
£7
thatthewomendo in factblamethemselves;
thatsomething
evaluagenuinely
tiveis goingon.
and
Thefirst
reasonis this:otherpeopleoftenblamewomenforinfertility,
self-blame
and other-blame
tendto go handin hand.(In otherwords,women
blameby
blamethemselves
becauseotherpeopleblamethem.)In somesocieties,
at
whichis bothrampantand overt,is directedprimarily
othersforinfertility,
socialostracism,
women.Thesesocieties
areonesinwhichdivorce,
abandonment,
forwomen(Dyeretal. 2005;Gunwithinfertility
andabusearehighly
correlated
Themajority
ofpeople- oratleastthemajor2004).11
tupalliandChenchelgudem
ityofdominantsocietalmembers-mustsupportthesepracticesforthemto
mustblamewomenforinfertility.
whichmeansthatthemajority
continue,
(Why
ofwomen?)Blamebyothersneednotbe
elsewouldtheyendorsesuchtreatment
beliefthatstresscauses
so overtor severe,however.
Forexample,thepervasive
butnotsevere.
isa sourceofblameforwomenthatiscertainly
palpable,
infertility
"should
she
should
relax"
or
a
woman
that
stopworkingso hard"
"just
Telling
hers
to
with.
Such
that
the
is
advice,whichcan be wellproblem
implies
begin
one
Themessageisessentially
foritsreceiver.
hasnegative
implications
meaning,
then
withotherthings,
ofblame:"ifyourelaxedmoreandwerenotso preoccupied
Moreover,
youwouldbe pregnant.
relaxingmoreand workingless are surely
toself-blame.
withinyourcontrol."
Suchother-blame
easilycanbe converted
A secondreasonforthinkingthatwomenwho say,"I'm responsible
for
theinfertility,"
foritis thatthethoughtcoheres
genuinelyblamethemselves
withpsychological
In fact,studiesdealstudiesaboutwomenwhoareinfertile.
with
self-blame
inthat
women
whoexperience
conclude
ing
overwhelmingly
blamethemselves
forit:theydo so moreoftenthanmenandevenwhen
fertility
thecause oftheinfertility
is unknown(Greil1997;Schneiderand Forthofer
2005;Petersonetal. 2006).12
more,in comparison
Theyalso blamethemselves
withotherwomen,iftheircultureis especially
towardwomen(van
pro-natalist
toourproject,is problemRooijetal. 2007).Thisresearch,
althoughimportant
aticbecauseitoftenfailstodistinguish
between
blameworthiness
and
carefully
causalresponsibility.13
Womensaythattheyareresponsible
fortheinfertility,
andresearchers
assumethattheytherefore
blamethemselves,
whenin fact,they
couldmerely
be acceptingthattheycausedtheinfertility
So the
(blamelessly).
researchdoes notobviouslycorroborate
ourthesisaboutself-blame.
Butifwe
in moredetail,wewillseethatthebestinterpretaexploretheresearch
findings
tionofthemdoes supportourthesis.
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CAROLYN MCLEOD AND JULIE PONESSE
135
first
thatwomenwhoseculture
Consider
thefinding
isespecially
pro-natalist
blamethemselves
forinfertility
morethanotherwomen.Thisresultsuggests
that
has
to
do
with
the
"self-blame."
to
pro-natalism something
According pro-natalist
is a woman'ssocialroleand ifa womandoesnotbearchilnorms,childbearing
orshecountslessthan
dren,thenshedoesnot"count"(i.e.,havevalue)insociety,
womanorpeoplearoundherbelievethatchildbearing
otherwomen.Ifan infertile
is hersocialrole,thenshe'slikelygenuinely
toblameherself
orbe blamedforthe
Considerthatwithsocialrolescomesocialresponsibilities
andthatthe
infertility.
is
for
here
to
bear
children:
one's
own
for
thatofone's
relevant
sake,
responsibility
for
one's
or
for
one's
for
one's
children.
parents,
spouse'sparents,
spouse,
existing
whichtheycan do without
enIfwomenhaveinternalized
suchpro-natalismtheywillfeelthattheyhavelet
dorsingit(Calhoun1995)- thenin all likelihood,
feel
for
that
is howpeoplecommonly
if
cannot
down
getpregnant;
people
they
thatone
reason.Believing
theirsocialrole,forwhatever
whentheycannotfulfill
thatoneblamesone'sself.
hasletpeopledownindicates
inthatwomenwhoexperience
Considersecondthefinding
unexplained
take
of
the
and
cause
are
the
assume
that
to
tend
responsiinfertility
they
fertility
forit.Now,whywouldwomendo that?Wethinktheanswerissimilartothe
bility
isgreatest
answertowhyself-blame
amongwomenwhofaceseverepro-natalism:
theviewthattheirsocialroleas
to somedegree,thewomenhaveinternalized
Andifthatis theirrole,thenas women,theyshouldbe
womenis to reproduce.
Iftheycannotdo it,thentheremustbe something
abletoreproduce.14
wrongwith
down.
iftheycannotdo it,thentheyletotherpeople
Thus,
them.Furthermore,
blame
and
also
to
themselves
the
of
the
cause
attribute
infertility
unexplained
they
forit.
themselves
forwhywomentake
is ourpreferred
Thepreviousexplanation
explanation
thatthe
andtheexplanation
forunexplained
suggests
infertility;
responsibility
theytakeis moral,notcausal.Butthereis atleastoneotherposresponsibility
one thatsuggeststhattherelevant
thatwe oughtto consider,
sibleexplanation
do nottrulyblamethemselves
women
that
and
is
causal
therefore,
responsibility
is unknown.
whenthecauseofinfertility
if
forunexplainedinfertilityWomenmighttakeresponsibility
publicly,
fromtheshame
theirmalepartners
becausetheywanttoprotect
notprivatelyAndifthatistheir
areinfertile.
thattheythemselves
ofthinking
orembarrassment
because
the
for infertility,
purpose,thentheyneednottakemoralresponsibility
maleegos.Unforisenoughtosavetheirpartners'
assumingcausalresponsibility
self-blame
on
recent
research
with
not
does
this
among
jive
tunately, explanation
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136 ej£rfWW&*#W^«***«/OF
TO6Si^^^
FEMINIST
APPROACHES
1:1
revealsthatthese
infertile
womenintheWest(Peronaceetal.2007).Thisliterature
women,in general,will notpubliclyacceptblameformale-factor
infertility,
about
concerned
if
were
that
would
one
would
assume
protecting
they
they
though
not
takerewould
theirpartnerfromembarrassment.
Therefore,
theyprobably
also
concludes
literature
This
same
either.
for
infertility
sponsibility unexplained
to be particularly
thatmentendnotto findmale-factor
distressing,
infertility
who
are
Women
to
female-factor
or
partnered
unexplained
infertility.15
compared
isnota majorsourceofself-esteem
withthesemenmaybe wellawarethatvirility
thecause
forthem.Ifso,thenthesewomenwouldnotassumethatbyattributing
from
tothemselves,
ofunexplained
theywouldbe savingtheirpartners
infertility
Ofcourse,somewomenmightassumeas much,and for
seriouspsychicinjury.
is clearlyimportant
goodreason,becausetheyinhabitculturesin whichvirility
it
the
formen.Where is important, previousexplanationforself-attribution
is certainly
plausible.
amongwomenforthecausesofinfertility
thecause of
Butwe thinkthatour explanation-thatwomenattribute
normsthat
social
because
of
themselves
to
pro-natalist
unexplainedinfertility
take
causal
than
rather
responsibiljust
encouragewomentoblamethemselves
withdifferent
andarguably
literature
ity-coheresbestwithall oftheempirical
that
womenand men,including
ofinfertile
culturalbackgrounds
backgrounds
not
redo
women
who
in
where
Even
societies
arenotespecially
pro-natalist.
reproducproduceorbearchildrenalso havevalue,culturalmessagesmarking
tionas thedomainofwomenarestrong.
Thereis one finalreasonwhywe thinkit is falseto assumethatwhen
fortheirinfertility,
womensaytheyareresponsible
theymeancausallyresponfora direoutcome,itis unsible.Whenpeoplebelievethemselves
responsible
forit.Theyblamethemselves.
usualforthemjusttoacceptcausalresponsibility
Forexample,ifI makewhatturnsoutto be a poorfinancialdecision,one that
formakinga poor
blamemyself
putsmein financialruin,thenI willprobably
decision,evenifI couldnothaveknownthatitwouldturnoutto be poor(or
ofbelievingthathorrible
thatI would).Thealternative
events,suchas financial
ruin,occur by chance alone- thatI have no controloverwhethertheydo
occur- is too hardto accept.Hence,I blamemyselfand assumethatthings
turnedoutbadlybecauseI failedto exertthecontrolI do haveoverwhether
withinfertility:
thattheworldisjust
thingsgowellorbadly.Similarly
thinking
unfairorthattheirbodieshavebetrayed
themmaynotbe an option,especially
forwomenwhofindinfertility
to be devastating
and whowantto believethat
choicesthanonestheymadein the
theycan overcomeitbymakingdifferent
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CAROLYN MCLEOD AND JULIE PONESSE
137
is a copingmechanism
forwomen,especiallyperhapsfor
past.Here,self-blame
thosewhohaveinternalized
thepro-natalist
is a disaster
messagethatinfertility
forwomen.
Ifpersuasive,
thepreviousdiscussionshowsthattheresponsibility
many
tothemselves
isresponsibility
inthecreditsensewomenattribute
forinfertility
"takingthecredit(blame)forit"(Card 1996,28)- ratherthanthecausalsense.
forthesewomenis moralluck.
Andtherefore,
badbiological
luckofbeinginfertile
(Itwouldbe mereluckiftheresponsibility
theytookwerecausal,andthus,nonmenneverfacemoralluckofthis
moral.)To be clear,theideais notthatinfertile
is significantly
lessthan
amountofittheydo experience
sort,butthatwhatever
whatwomenexperience.
Analyzingself-blameand regretforinfertility
ofmanyinfertile
women
theself-blame
Thereissomequestionas towhether
whenitservesas a coping
thanharmful,
tothem,rather
couldbehelpful
especially
couldbe goodluck,
thenthemoralluckitrepresents
Ifitis helpful,
mechanism.
whether
notbad.Wewouldliketopursuethisquestionandalso consider
regret,
toinfertility,
women
an
insteadofblame,wouldbe appropriate
response
bymany
ornot.
whether
theycausedtheinfertility
womenwouldbe helpful
ofinfertile
One mightthinkthattheself-blame
it can allow themto believethat
to thembecause,as explainedpreviously,
It could give
throughtheirown actions,theycan overcometheirinfertility.
will
themhope,in otherwords,thatfuturestrategies
theyuse to getpregnant
womenassumetherewas something
work.In blamingthemselves,
theycould
Womenwhoassumetheopposite-there
theirinfertility.
havedoneto prevent
was nothingtheycould havedone- could finditharderto believethattheir
on whether
choiceswillhaveanyeffect
future
theygetpregnant.
is weakforat least
ofself-blame
Butthepreviousanalysisofthebenefits
will
at
one's
that
threereasons:(1) Obviously,
pregnant
attempts getting
hope
A
who
conwoman
be
succeedcan be falsehope,whichitselfcan damaging.
can be resolvedbyherown management
tinuesto believethatherinfertility
morelikelytobe devasand therefore
be
about,
optimistic
may unrealistically
revealsoverallthat
tatedby,bad outcomes.(2) Thepsychologicalliterature
thedistressthey
womeninfertile
for
is nota goodcopingstrategy
self-blame
is usuallyhigheriftheyblamethemselves
as a resultoftheinfertility
experience
thaniftheydo not(see,e.g.,Petersonet al. 2006). (3) The
forbeinginfertile
and sexistnormthatwomenoughtto feel
thepro-natalist
blamecan reinforce
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138 ,J£*^a^/^aW/^«*™«/0F
s7
FEMINIST
TO<^&Wrf^*i 1:1
APPROACHES
iftheycannotgetpregnant.
In particular,
blamewill
badlyaboutthemselves
ifitstemsfrompro-natalist
havethiseffect
and sexistsocialforces,
as muchof
women'sself-blame
does,accordingto theprevioussectionofthispaper.For
thattargetswomenin
thatexistsbecauseofother-blame
example,self-blame
as is theself-blame
generalratherthanmenis clearlylinkedwiththeseforces,
thathas itsroots
Self-blame
thatwomenfeelbecauseofunexplained
infertility.
in pro-natalism
and sexismcannotbe goodforwomen.
moralluckofself-blame
wemaintain
thatthereproductive
Forthesereasons,
women
shouldnotengage
In
these
is generally
bad forinfertile
women. general,
in self-blame
to do so. Theremaybe somewomenwholegitiorbe encouraged
as notedpreviously,
could
blame
themselves
for
usingtheexmately
infertilitybut
to
be
sterilizedof
woman
who
chooses
the
again,we
ample
autonomously
assumethatsuchcasesarefewandfarbetween.
an inappropriate
responseto
bywomenis normally
Althoughself-blame
is
thebad luckofbeinginfertile,
one mightwonderwhether
regret everan apwhodon'tblame
if
Women
and
under
what
conditions.
so,
response,
propriate
willregretit,thatis,iftheywantto
forinfertility
almostcertainly
themselves
can dependon exactlywhatthe
Butwhether
is appropriate
regret
getpregnant.
belowand do so under
womanis regretting.
We considerdifferent
possibilities
thegeneralheadingsof:regret
forpastactions(thatmayhavecausedone'sin(thatexistbecauseoftheinfertility),
fertility),
regretforone'scircumstances
and regret
forone'sconstitution
(as an infertile
woman).
to
actions
that
sheassumescontributed
First,a womanmightregret
past
herinfertility
andregret
themwithout
that
was
a
relevant
she
morally
believing
cause oftheinfertility.
Forexample,a womancan regrethavingengagedin
evenifsheknowsthatatthetime,shedidnotappreciate
riskysexualbehavior,
therisksand couldnothavereasonably
beenexpectedto do so. Regretofthis
sortcan be inappropriate
and wouldbe so ifittargetedan actionthatin all
likelihooddidnotcausetheinfertility,
suchas a pastabortionthatinvolvedno
Butregretting
complications.
pastactionsthatcouldverywellhavecontributed
to one'sinfertility
can be appropriate.
Aristotle
tellsus why,ingeneral,
oneoughttoregret
actionsforwhichone
cannotbe blamedbutthatarenormally
(i.e.,becauseofthenature
blameworthy
oftheaction- sayitwas a lie- orbecauseofitseffects):
theregretsignalsthat
theactionwas involuntary
Ethics
1110b
(Nicomachean
18-20).In certaincontextsat least,saying"I regretdoingX" suggeststhatI didn'treallywantto do
X or didn'twantwhatitbroughtabout.Instead,I was coercedintodoingitor
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CAROLYN MCLEOD AND JULIE PONESSE
139
was undersomemisconception
aboutwhatitsconsequenceswouldbe. Hence,
theactionwas notfullyautonomous(assumingthatvoluntariness
and knowlare
for
see
about
McLeod
2002).What
consequences important autonomy;
edge
forwhichtheyare
does thisreasoningimplyforwomenwhoregretinfertility
The
indicates
that
but
not
responsible? regret
theyarenotmormorally
causally
and
the
is
hence,
regret appropriate.
allyresponsible;
withwhatonehas
forpastactionsalsocansignalthatoneisunhappy
Regret
revealsthelevel
tolose,becauseoftheseactions.So theregret
lost,orcausedothers
toa certaingoodorthelevelofone'scaringforotherswho
ofone'scommitment
or not).Thus,a woman
becauseofwhatone did (intentionally
lose something
her
becauseshe
that
contributed
to
shehad
thelifestyle
infertility
mightregret
orwishesthatshecouldnowdo
mother
wishesthatshecouldbe a biological
truly
thatsheshareswithher
thegoalofbiologicalparenthood
herpartin fulfilling
as
as
can
be
this
sort
of
appropriate long thewoman'swishesare
partner.
Regret
as opposedtobeingdetermined
authentic,
pro-naparticularly
byoutsideforces,
Whena womantrulywantstobe a biologicalparentand
talistandsexistforces.
itmakessensethatshe
ofbeingsucha parent,
theexperience
togiveherpartner
shehadthathelpedtomakeherinfertile.
thelifestyle
wouldregret
has
inwhichherinfertility
thecircumstances
Second,a womancan regret
thatanypastactionsofherscaused
themwithout
thinking
placedherandregret
or
notbeingableto getpregnant
Forexample,shesimplyregrets
theinfertility.
canbe appropriate
notbeingabletogiveherspousea biologicalchild.Suchregret
is a wayofshowing
theregret
forreasonsdiscussedin thepreviousparagraph:
ortheinterests
howmuchthewomanvaluespregnancy,
biologicalmotherhood,
withpro-natalism
ofsomeoneclosetoher.Butagain,thesevaluescanbe infected
mother
because
thewomanmightdesiretobe a biological
orsexism;forexample,
One
shebelievesthathervalueas a personisdefined
capacity.
byherreproductive
as opposedtobeinga
sucha desireis authentic
canlegitimately
questionwhether
not
for
andinturn,whether
ofoppression,
mereproduct
beingabletofulfill
regret
could
in
instance
this
is
thisdesire appropriate.
signalwhatis important
Regret
her.
notso muchtothewoman,buttotheculturethatoppresses
whosheis andwho
herconstitution:
womanmightregret
Third,an infertile
thatsheisfilled
sheregrets
Forexample,
shehasbecomebecauseofbeinginfertile.
when
for
feels
that
she
her
about
or
self-blame
withangst
sorry herself
infertility,
envishe
is
that
froma fateworsethaninfertility,
so manyotherssuffer
incredibly
as a womanbecause
orthatshefeelsincomplete
ousofwomenwhobearchildren,
thatsheholdsbutdoesnotendorse.
attitudes
ofpro-natalist
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140 j£*a£*#*«/i«#*«/^w*#*«/OF
FEMINISTAPPROACHES
TO 6&*<H&&cd, 1:1
and
whoone is as an infertile
womancan be bothappropriate
Regretting
withinone'scontrol.As
requiredeventhoughone'scharacteris notentirely
who
sheis,and mayfeelwhat
woman
be
an
infertile
may
previously,
suggested
In thatcase,oppression
norms.
shefeels,
becauseshehasinternalized
oppressive
hascausedmoraldamagetohercharacter
(Tessman2005;Card 1996).16
Regretinsofaras itencouragesone to reofoppressionis appropriate
tingthiseffect
value
has prospective
makeone'sselfto whatever
degreepossible.Here,regret
to alleviatedamageto
foran infertile
womanbecauseitspursheron in trying
tothe
shehasfaced,andtorespondvirtuously
herselfcausedbytheoppression
Becauseoftheregret(and otherfactorsto
ofherinfertility.
bad moraleffects
fromothers),shemightevenbecomea better
be sure,suchas encouragement
throughtheinfertility.
personthanshewouldhavebeenhad shenotsuffered
toward
Forexample,shecouldbecomemorecourageous,morecompassionate
moreawareofher
peoplewhoexperiencetrialsthatare similarto infertility,
clearer
that
are
and
those
that
are
beneficial
harmful,
personalrelationships
to her,and so on.
aboutherdesiresthatareauthentic
a selfthat
forreconstituting
Thisis nottosuggest
thattakingresponsibility
has beensomewhatmangledbyoppressionis easy.Card explainsthat,on the
relathisprocessis normally
(1996).Itrequiressevering
quitedifficult
contrary,
tionswithpeopleclosetoyouwhoreinforce
theoppression,
more
forming positive
andsilencing
inauthentic
desires.Forwomen
relationships,
yetdeeplyentrenched
whoregret
whotheyareas infertile
a
self
that
isvirtuous-that
women,
developing
can respondwithintegrity
or grace17
to thebad luckofbeinginfertilewillbe
difficult.
to
do
or
at
and
who
least
Nevertheless,
it,
it;
theyought
attempt
regretting
first
a better
character.
theyareis an important
steptowarddeveloping
In summary,
unlikeself-blame,
can
a
be
moralresponse
regret
legitimate
tothebadluckofbeinginfertile.
Someforms
ofregret
willsurely
be illegitimate,
as indicated
But
there
are
instances
of
previously.
many
regretting
beinginfertile
(and thefeelingsand anxietythatgo alongwithitformanywomen)thatare
becausetheycommunicate
concernforotherswhowillgrieveover
appropriate
theinfertility,
forexample,ortheypromptone to repaira selfthatis damaged
forces.
bysexistand pro-natalist
ofinfertility,
canbe morally
Thus,inthecontext
regret
good,butself-blame
is morally
self-blame
is commonamonginfertile
bad,andunfortunately
women.
theblamerepresents
bad reproductive
moralluckforwomen.As we
Moreover,
haveshown,womenarevulnerable
to thisluckin societiesthatdefinewomen's
function
intermsoftheircapacity
forbiologicalreproduction.
Theelimination
of
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CAROLYN MCLEOD AND JULIE PONESSE
141
thatsocietiesrethisbadmoralluckforwomenwillrequire,
amongotherthings,
vibrant
orlingering
of
women
as
breeders.
movefromthemselves
Women
images
wellin societywithoutbiological
mustbe ableto knowthattheycan function
is nota woman'sfault.17
andthatingeneral,
children,
infertility
Acknowledgments
ofHealth
bytheCanadianInstitutes
Fundingforthisprojectwasprovided
Research.
Notes
termofart,althoughweuse itina way
1.Theterm"moralluck"is a philosophical
workon moral
thatis perhapsmorebroadthanhowittendsbe tousedinphilosophical
luck.We explainwhythatis truebelow.
2. Lessextreme
examplesarethoseinwhichpeoplereceiveblameformakingrisky
decisionsthatturnout to havebeen bad ones
decisionsaboutinfertility
treatment,
orcouplewithno babyand no money).Because
woman
leave
the
because
they
(perhaps
oflucktosomedegree,thewomanorcouple
theoutcomesofthesedecisionsarea matter
forhavingbad luck.Butwe oftenassumethatpeopleoughtto be
is blamedessentially
blamedforbad outcomesoftheirdecisions,eventhoughpeopletendto havelimited
controloveroutcomes;hence,theprevioustypeofexampleis notextreme.
Bycontrast,
suchas inwe tendnotto thinkthatpeopleshouldbe blamedforphysicalconditions,
extreme.
is
for
blamed
women
of
our
thus,
infertility
being
example
fertility;
is theabsenceofconceptionafter
ofinfertility
3. "Theclassicclinicaldefinition
intercourse"
of
months
twelve
(Larsen2005,846).Butmanycouples
unprotected
regular,
aftertwoyearsoftrying,and in fact,are morelikelyto
conceivewithouttreatment
conceivein thesecondyearoftryingthantheyare in thefirstyear.Understandably
as theabsenceofconception
then,theWorldHealthOrganizationdefinesinfertility
intercourse
of
months
(Larsen).
aftertwenty-four
unprotected
regular,
oneis cured otinfertilwhether
ofluckthatcan determine
4. We leaveoutforms
assisted
(ARTs).
Amongtheseforms
technologies
reproductive
using
ity,particularly
ARTs,assuming
arefinancialluck- theluckthatgoeswithhavingtheabilityto afford
and temporal
thattheyarenotcoveredbypublichealthinsurance-and geographical
luck- beingat therightplaceattherighttimein termsofbeingableto accessARTs.
and temporalluckalso are relevantto whetherone can
Financial,geographical,
on adoptiontendto
pursueadoption,becauseadoptionscostmoney,and restrictions
in beinginfertile
luck
For
time.
example,manypeople'stemporal
varywithplaceand
whocan adopt
on
new
restrictions
as
China
in
2007
bad
became
implemented
suddenly
fromChina.Amongthenewlyexcludedwereobesepeople,peoplewhotakemedication
and peoplewhosenetworthis lessthan$80,000US (Belluck
foranxietyordepression,
and Yardley2006).
This content downloaded from 142.150.190.39 on Fri, 20 Dec 2013 08:46:19 AM
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142 eJ^«^i««/^*/«/^«*A*<«/OF
c7
FEMINIST
APPROACHES
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5. Forexample,a womanwhoundergoes
IVF mightendup suffering
fromovarian
which
is
a
risk
of
ovarian
Whether
she acstimulation.
hyperstimulation
syndrome,
is a matterofbiologicalluck.
quiresthissyndrome
has a biologicalcomponentto it.In other
6. Here,we assumethatall infertility
causerootedin eiwoman
has a physiological
the
words, infertility
experienced
byany
between
therheror herpartner,or is theproductofsomebiologicalincompatibility
bethem.Hence,weexcludefromouranalysiswomenwhomone mightcall "infertile"
their
causetheyarelesbianorsingle.We recognizethatthesewomenmightexperience
tohavea childas bad moralluck;butin ourview,theyarenotactuallyinfertile
inability
and so discussionoftheirexperienceis beyondthescopeofthispaper.
areespecially
7.AmyKaler(2007)explainsthatrumorsaboutcausesofinfertility
peopleassumethatone or moreofthe
pervasivein Africa.In partsofthatcontinent,
vaccinations(e.g.,againstpolioor smallpox),vitamins,ioleadsto sterility:
following
and thelistgoeson.
dizedsalt,anti-malarial
medication,
8. Bycontrast,
philosophers
workingon morallucktendto assumethattheluck
forsomegroupsorsomepeopleonly.
makesa moraldifference
period,nota difference
or that
womenblamethemselves,
9. To be clear,ourviewis notthatall infertile
we
assume
For
to
the
same
those
who
the
blame
is
do,
always
degree. example,
among
are less likelythanother
thatwomenwho havecome to termswiththeirinfertility
tooverwomento (actively)
blamethemselves
forit.Unlikewomenwhoarestruggling
as a seriousproblem
cometheirinfertility,
thesewomenno longersee theirinfertility
and so mustbe disinclinedtoblamethemselves
(orblameanyoneelse).
10.Forexample,Egyptianwomenfacean especiallyhighculturaland religious
pressureto conceive.ManyEgyptianparentsforbidtheirsons to marryan infertile
woman,and Egyptianmenare stillentitledto filefordivorceon thegroundsoftheir
wives'infertility,
is notextendedtowomen.Thestigma
althoughthesameentitlement
ofinfertility
is no lesssevereforinfertile
womenthroughout
whoarefrequently
Africa,
accusedofcausingtheirowninfertility.
In manyAfricancountries,
womenmuststill
demonstrate
beforemarrying,
and infertility
is a majorcause ofdivorceand
fertility
abandonment
thecontinent
(Inhorn1994;Dyeret al. 2002 and 2005).
throughout
11.Muchofthisresearchis done on "treatment-seekers"
(womenwho seekout
whomaybe morelikelytoblamethemselves
thanotherwomen(see,
treatment),
fertility
notall oftheresearchis narrowin thisway(see,e.g.,Abbey
e.g.,Kaler2007);however,
and Halman 1995;Vieyraetal. 1990;bothcitedin Greil1997).
12. Manypsychologicalstudieson self-blameare problematicin thisway(see
Shaverand Drown1986).
13.Thisbeliefis tiedtoan ancienttradition
accordingtowhicha function
implies
a capability.
Aristotle
saidthatifthefunction
ofa knifeis to cut,thentheknifehas the
tocut.Itfollowsthatanything
capacity(orthepotentiality)
lackingthiscapacitycould
notbe a knife.Similarly,
ifa woman'sprimaryfunctionis to bearchildren,thenshe
mustbe capableofdoingso. Otherwise,
sheis nottrulya woman.
14.Thisfinding-thatvirility
is notterribly
formenintheWest-makes
important
sense,giventhat"beinga man"in theWestusuallyinvolvesnotprocreating,
buthaving
lotsofnon-procreative
sexwithdifferent
women.
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CAROLYNMCLEOD ANDJULIEPONESSE 143
15.ClaudiaCardandLisaTessmanagreethatoppressed
peoplecan rightfully
regret
suchdamageeventhoughtheycannot,ofcourse,be blamedfortheiroppression.
Walkerdescribesgraceas acceptance,
16.Margaret
daily living
non-aggrandized
with'unsupported
ofovercoming
orrestitution"
(Walker1993,242).Feeling
byfantasies
whichis what
suchacceptanceis whatitmeansto cometo termswithone'sinfertility,
is more
theinfertility
infertile
womenneedto do ifovercoming
(i.e.,becomingfertile)
a fantasy
thananything
else.
17.Boththeauthorscontributed
equallyto thispaper.
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