Behind the Silence: Chinese Voices on Abortion

Jing-Bao Nie

doi:10.5771/9780742571280

Summary

Behind the Silence is the first in-depth work in any language to explore the diverse perspectives of mainland Chinese regarding induced abortion and fetal life in the context of the world's most ambitious and intrusive family planning program. Bringing to light the range of Chinese views and experiences, Nie Jing-Bao draws on extensive primary sources and intensive fieldwork, including surveys by and interviews with hundreds of rural, urban, and overseas Chinese. Nie's exploration of the multi-layered meanings of public silence, official pronouncements, forgotten controversies from the Imperial era, public and private consensus and disagreement, women's personal stories, and doctors' narratives provides compelling evidence on the remarkably varied, sometimes critical, and often tormented voices of the Chinese people. Revealing a surprising range of beliefs and feelings concerning the morality of abortion and fetal life, the book nevertheless finds widespread acceptance of national population policies. It also examines the personal anguish and complex socio-cultural and ethical issues entwined with coerced abortion essential to enforce birth-control policies. In addition, the author argues, the abortion issue illustrates the importance of taking seriously China's internal plurality if Westerners and Chinese are to develop a fruitful cross-cultural dialogue.

Search publication

Bibliographic data

Edition: 1/2005
Copyright Year: 2005
ISBN-Print: 978-0-7425-2371-5
ISBN-Online: 978-0-7425-7128-0
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 294
Product Type: Monograph

1. Contents No access
2. Foreword No access
Introduction No access Pages 1 - 12
1 Listening to the Silence The Absence of Public Debate and Its Meaning No access Pages 13 - 38
2 "Instructon" from Above: Official Positions No access Pages 39 - 66
3 The Forgotten Controversies: Heritage of Imperial Times No access Pages 67 - 94
4 Tidings from the Populace: Consensus and Contention in the Survey Results No access Pages 95 - 134
5 Bitterness beyond Words: Women's Narratives No access Pages 135 - 162
6 Fulfiling Discordant Duties: Doctors' Narratives No access Pages 163 - 188
7 An Inquiry into Coerced Abortion: Sociocultural and Ethical Issues No access Pages 189 - 222
8 The Challenge of Cross-Cultural Dialogue: Taking Seriously China's Internal Plurality No access Pages 223 - 254
Appendix: The Pilot Study, the Survey, and the Interviews No access Pages 255 - 264
References No access Pages 265 - 275
Index No access Pages 276 - 289
Acknowledgements No access Pages 290 - 292
About the Author No access Pages 293 - 294