Conceiving parenthood

the long version

"Amy Laura Hall, a self-described pro-life feminist, seeks out the genesis of bioethical issues rather than trying to divine their future. Her disturbing finding is that mainline Protestantism is complicit in the history and development of reproductive biotechnology. Through analysis of nearly 150 images of the family in mainstream media in the twentieth century, Hall argues that, by downplaying the gratuity of grace, middle-class Protestants have, with American culture at large, implicitly endorsed the idea of justification through responsibly planned procreation. A tradition that should have welcomed all persons equally has instead fostered a culture of "carefully delineated, racially encoded domesticity."" "The book is replete with photos and advertisements from popular magazines from the 1930s through the 1950s."--Jacket.