Abstract
To further our thinking about abortion from the viewpoint of embodiment, I suggest an imaginative trip to Japan where abortion is socially embodied in ritual expression. Traveling expands horizons, opens options, and tenders new perspectives; by traveling one discovers new things to see and new ways to see. Japanese beliefs, practices, and cultural mores with respect to abortion carry the potential of infusing new insight and fresh perspective into an old U.S. debate. While the individualized and private features of pregnancy and abortion are accented in the U.S. legal context, the familial and communal context of pregnancy and abortion appear to receive the accent in much of contemporary Japan. Abortion in Japan is viewed by many as a family matter; the fetus is seen as part of a biologically-based kinship network and is not limited to an object or subject in the body of the pregnant woman alone. The fetus (known in Japan as the “water-child”) is seen within a context of lineage-based generations; symbols and rituals acknowledging this relationship are visible to the visitor and available to Japanese families who wish to utilize them.
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O’Connor, J. (1995). Ritual Recognition of Abortion: Japanese Buddhist Practices and U.S. Jewish and Christian Proposals. In: Cahill, L.S., Farley, M.A. (eds) Embodiment, Morality, and Medicine. Theology and Medicine, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8424-1_6
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