On the Threshold of the Living Subject: Pregnancy, Risk and Vital Politics (Transformations: Thinking Through Feminism)

traditionally, Euroamerican Cultures Have Considered That Human Status Was Conferred At The Conclusion To Childbirth. However, In Contemporary Euroamerican Biomedicine, Law And Politics, The Living Subject Is Often Claimed To Pre-exist Birth. In This Fascinating Book Lorna Weir Argues That The Displacement Of Birth As The Threshold Of The Living Subject Began In The 1950s With The Novel Concept Of ‘perinatal Mortality’ Referring To Death Of Either The Foetus Or The Newborn Just Prior To, During Or After Birth. weir’s Book Gives A New Feminist Approach To Pregnancy In Advanced Modernity Focusing On The Governance Of Population. She Traces The Introduction Of The Perinatal Threshold Into Child Welfare And Tort Law Through Expert Testimony On Foetal Risk, Sketching The Clash At Law Between The Birth And Perinatal Thresholds Of The Living Subject. Her Book Makes Original Empirical And Theoretical Contributions To The History Of The Present (foucauldian Research), Feminism, And Social Studies Of Risk, And She Conceptualizes A New Historical Focus For The History Of The Present: The Threshold Of The Living Subject. calling Attention To The Significance Of Population Politics, Especially The Reduction Of Infant Mortality, For The Unsettling Of The Birth Threshold, This Book Argues That Risk Techniques Are Heterogeneous, Contested With Expertise, And Plural In Their Political Effects. Interview Research With Midwives Shows Their Critical Relation To Using Risk Assessment In Clinical Practice. An Original And Accessible Study, This Book Will Be Of Great Interest To Students And Researchers Across Many Disciplines. Historically, western cultures have considered that human status was conferred at the end of childbirth. However, in the contemporary medicine, law and politics of the global north, the living subject is often claimed to pre-exist birth. In Pregnancy, Risk and Biopolitics Weir argues that the displacement of birth as the threshold of the living subject occurred in the 1950s with the novel concept of "perinatal mortality" referring to death of either the fetus or the newborn just prior to, during and after birth.Pregnancy, Risk and Biopolitics calls attention to the significance of population politics, especially the reduction of infant mortality, for the unsettling of birth as the entry to human status. Weir traces the introduction of a new perinatal threshold into child welfare and tort law through expert testimony on fetal risk, sketching the clash at law between the birth and perinatal thresholds of the living subject.This novel book makes original empirical and theoretical contributions to the history of the present (Foucauldian research), feminism, and social studies of risk. Weir conceptualizes a new focus for the history of the present: the threshold of the living subject - the historically and culturally variable processes through which the boundary of human status is established at the points of entry and exit into collective existence. She argues that risk techniques are heterogeneous, subjects of contention, and plural in their political effects rather than singular, neoliberal, and uniformly supported by expertise. This book is a well researched and accessible study of biopolitics which is of interest to students and researchers in anthropology, health studies, history, legal studies, science studies, sociology, and women's studies. "In Pregnancy, Risk and Biopolitics Lorna Weir argues that the displacement of birth as the threshold of the living subject occurred in the 1950s with the novel concept of "perinatal mortality" referring to death of either the fetus or the newborn just prior to, during and after birth." "Pregnancy, Risk and Biopolitics calls attention to the significance of population politics, especially the reduction of infant mortality, for the unsettling of birth as the entry to human status." "This book is an accessible study of biopolitics which is of interest to students and researchers in anthropology, health studies, history, legal studies, science studies, sociology, and women's studies."--Jacket Book Cover......Page 1 Half-Title......Page 2 Series-Title......Page 3 Title......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 List of Figures......Page 7 Acknowledgements......Page 8 1. On the threshold of the living subject......Page 10 2. A genealogy of perinatal mortality......Page 40 3. Health beyond risk: A midwifery ethos in prenatal care......Page 85 4. Legal fiction and reality effects: Evidence of perinatal risk......Page 124 5. Child welfare at the perinatal threshold: Making orders protecting fetuses......Page 152 6. Biopolitics at the threshold of the living subject......Page 190 Notes......Page 199 Bibliography......Page 216 Index......Page 242