Reproductive autonomy as self-making: procreative liberty and the practice of ethical subjectivity.
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| Abstract |    :  
                  In this article, I consider recent debates on the notion of procreative liberty, to argue that reproductive freedom can be understood as a form of positive freedom-that is, the freedom to make oneself according to various ethical and aesthetic principles or values. To make this argument, I draw on Michel Foucault's later work on ethics. Both adopting and adapting Foucault's notion of ethics as a practice of the self and of liberty, I argue that reproductive autonomy requires enactment to gain meaning within the life contexts of prospective parents. Thus, I propose a shift away from the standard negative model of freedom that sees it solely as a matter of noninterference or nonimpedance, a view advocated by major commentators such as John Harris and John Robertson. Instead, reproduction should be understood as a deeply personal project of self-making that integrates both negative and positive freedom.  | 
        
| Year of Publication |    :  
                  2013 
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| Journal |    :  
                  The Journal of medicine and philosophy 
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| Volume |    :  
                  38 
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| Issue |    :  
                  6 
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| Number of Pages |    :  
                  639-56 
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| ISSN Number |    :  
                  0360-5310 
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| URL |    :  
                  https://academic.oup.com/jmp/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/jmp/jht046 
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| DOI |    :  
                  10.1093/jmp/jht046 
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| Short Title |    :  
                  J Med Philos 
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