Personhood
One of the topics we've covered in Anthro 104 so far this semester has been concepts of self--in short, that there is no universal human notion of what constitutes the 'self' or personhood. One of the examples mentioned in the professor's lectures was that among the Navajo, young children are thought to be in a sort of transition state between the spirit world and the earthy human world. A baby's first laugh signifies that he or she is ready to become fully a part of the human world, and this event is marked by a celebration. So in essence a child is not really a person until he or she laughs.
The students had to list an example of personhood not beginning at birth as part of their exam. I'm not sure whether it was conscious or simply a result of chance phrasing, but one student answered, "American belif that personhood begins in womb through use of ultrasound." We had of course discussed the rather widespread idea, particularly among many Christian groups in the US, that personhood begins at conception or some other point before birth. What was interesting about this student's response was that he (again, intentionally or not) suggested that the ultrasound itself seems to mark the beginning of personhood. Anecdotally speaking, I think this may very well be true. Think about stories of pregnant women talking about their first ultrasound--often they seem to connect the viewing of the ultrasound image with the sense that they suddenly felt that this fetus was a child or a human. Many mention seeing the sex of the fetus, seeing fingernails, or other specific physical characteristics. Furthermore, the perceived importance of the ultrasound is suggested by recent efforts in several states to require women seeking abortions to not only have an ultrasound offered to them, but to be forced to have one and strongly encouraged to look at the monitor. The intention is of course that if the woman sees the ultrasound, she will decide that her pregnancy is a person and should not be aborted.
The importance of the ultrasound is suggestive. Perhaps it truly is the case that, while the ideology of many of these groups is that personhood begins at conception, in practice personhood begins at first ultrasound.
The students had to list an example of personhood not beginning at birth as part of their exam. I'm not sure whether it was conscious or simply a result of chance phrasing, but one student answered, "American belif that personhood begins in womb through use of ultrasound." We had of course discussed the rather widespread idea, particularly among many Christian groups in the US, that personhood begins at conception or some other point before birth. What was interesting about this student's response was that he (again, intentionally or not) suggested that the ultrasound itself seems to mark the beginning of personhood. Anecdotally speaking, I think this may very well be true. Think about stories of pregnant women talking about their first ultrasound--often they seem to connect the viewing of the ultrasound image with the sense that they suddenly felt that this fetus was a child or a human. Many mention seeing the sex of the fetus, seeing fingernails, or other specific physical characteristics. Furthermore, the perceived importance of the ultrasound is suggested by recent efforts in several states to require women seeking abortions to not only have an ultrasound offered to them, but to be forced to have one and strongly encouraged to look at the monitor. The intention is of course that if the woman sees the ultrasound, she will decide that her pregnancy is a person and should not be aborted.
The importance of the ultrasound is suggestive. Perhaps it truly is the case that, while the ideology of many of these groups is that personhood begins at conception, in practice personhood begins at first ultrasound.