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Between “Science” and “Superstition”: Moral Perceptions of Induced Abortion Among Young Adults in Vietnam

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Abstract

Despite the increasing use ofreproductive technologies the world over,anthropological studies have paid remarkablylimited attention to the ethical dilemmasinvolved in people's choices of suchtechnologies. Against this background, theauthor analyzes moral perceptions of inducedabortion among unmarried young adults in urbanNorth Vietnam. While the ethical aspects ofabortion are shrouded in silence in public lifein Vietnam, the young people participating inthe study expressed strong moral scepticismtowards the practice of abortion, even whileundergoing it themselves. Through the analysisof young people's experiences and perceptions,the paper demonstrates how moral ideas are tiedto particular social situations and structuredby larger socio-political circumstances. It isargued that moral notions which are dominant ina society's public sphere may not berepresentative of the moral sentiments that arelived in practice and felt in private.

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  1. Institute of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksholms Kanal 4, DK 1220, Copenhagen K., Denmark

    Tine Gammeltoft

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Gammeltoft, T. Between “Science” and “Superstition”: Moral Perceptions of Induced Abortion Among Young Adults in Vietnam. Cult Med Psychiatry 26, 313–338 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021210405417

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