Haunting images: A cultural account of selective reproduction in Vietnam

摘要

What do prospective parents in greater Hanoi experience when they encounter the image of a foetus on the screen of an ultrasound scanning machine? What if the sonographer tells them that the foetus has an anomaly? This powerful, heart-wrenching, and beautifully written ethnography shows how images of a foetal anomaly force prospective parents to confront a series of existential and ethical questions about humanity, social belonging, and the nature of life itself: What, they must decide, constitutes a full and complete human being? Who has the capacity to make decisions about whether or not life should be denied to this potential child? In addition to offering new views of a foetus, ultrasonography and prenatal screening in Vietnam also raise unexpected moral quandaries. As one of the fathers in the book put it, 'it is a question of conscience' (p. 8). As one of the mothers put it, 'I think my child would have suffered. He would not have been able to enjoy the beauty of life. To be human means to be able to experience life, to love and to hate' (p. 166).