Thesis advisor: Lisa S. Cahill / Weaving qualitative interview analysis together with ethical inquiry, this project traces the trajectories of Catholic women and couples who hope to form families but contend with infertility and consider whether and how to treat it. Motivating this study is the challenge of balancing individual agency with the role of powerful social forces that shape agency. Examining and critiquing the social forces that shape the circumstances in which Catholic women and couples in the U.S. contend with infertility, this dissertation demonstrates how agential freedom is conditioned by familial, clinical, and ecclesial cultures and structures. It harnesses sociological tools and theological resources to argue for an account of agency that prioritizes critical engagement of contextual factors and suggests that the Church as a moral teacher ought to support the cultivation of this agency. Chapter one challenges the model of moral agency found in magisterial teachings that oppose the use of contraception and reproductive technologies, which suggests that lay Catholics ought to obey magisterially prescribed norms regardless of context. The chapter argues that the magisterial model of moral agency does not adequately account for the role of context in shaping agency, and it instead proposes an account of contextually situated agency that resonates with Pope Francis’ prioritization of contextual realties in his apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia.
The second chapter demonstrates how various social forces, including structures supporting heterosexual marriage, cultural ideals related to biological childbearing, and ecclesial structures of marital formation all contribute to U.S. Catholic couples’ family formation choices and can intensify burdens of infertility. The chapter proposes a reorientation of Catholic support for families centered on justice in relationships and Christian discipleship instead of family structure.
The third chapter examines how cultural ideals related to childbearing, the medicalization of infertility, and social location all contribute to shaping how Catholic women in the U.S. make sense of infertility. Contesting the cultural notion that women are responsible for infertility with reference to a criterion of justice, it describes infertility as a kind of biological bad luck also shaped by systemic forces. Structural injustices related to sexism and racism in healthcare function to distribute the bad luck of infertility unjustly based on societal vulnerabilities, which constitutes a kind of social sin.
The fourth chapter considers how two different understandings of Catholic identity shape treatment trajectories of Catholics contending with infertility toward either secular fertility clinics or Catholic clinics. It then examines these two clinical settings, demonstrating how contextual pressures shape how Catholics make treatment choices and underscoring how Catholic moral commitments can support moral agents’ resistance to these pressures. Its final section considers the social forces at work in adoption and fostering.
The final chapter turns to the role of the Church in supporting the moral agency of Catholics making decisions regarding family formation and infertility treatment. After analyzing and critiquing the dominant ideals found in Catholic and secular support group settings, it suggests that synodal commitments of mutual listening and inclusive dialogue can support the development of new structures of moral discernment in the Church. It concludes by considering how the social witness of the Church can contribute to the transformation of sinful social forces that constrain the freedom of women and couples contending with infertility. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BOSTON/oai:dlib.bc.edu:bc-ir_109707 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | McDonald, Emma Louise |
| Publisher | Boston College |
| Source Sets | Boston College |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, thesis |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. |
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