Abstract

In the following study, I examine the NorplantRTM as a problematic of power in contemporary liberalism. In the United States, Norplant RTM has been utilized in legal sentencing while legislative attempts have been made to tie it to welfare benefits. Internationally, Norplant RTM was tested on populations in developing nations, raising the issue of informed consent. Some have charged that the device serves as a tool for population control, at the expense of reproductive autonomy. ;My theoretical critique and response to this dilemma derives from a synthesis of the works of Michel Foucault, Hannah Arendt, and feminist theorists. While Foucault's notions of power are extremely useful, his notions of resistance are limited. Arendt's concept of natality serves to enhance theories of democratic action. Feminist accounts of marginalization and corporeality work past the limits of Arendt's theory. My synthesis presents an intersubjective political theory of natality and memory that responds to the limits of contemporary liberalism. ;The theoretical dimension of this dissertation is operationalized through an exhaustive interpretive critique of the literature that works hermeneutically with my account of NorplantRTM. My analysis of Norplant RTM is operationalized through intensive examination of the discourse surrounding the device, including professional and popular accounts. I perform close readings of state proposals to tie NorplantRTM to welfare and legal cases that tie sentencing to the device. Additionally, I conduct interviews with health care practitioners, integrating them with interviews by social researchers of women who have had the device implanted. My theoretical study of resistance is elucidated through an examination of the case of the imprisoned lay midwife, Abigail Odam. My analysis of this case includes a narrative of the case as well as correspondence with Odam while she was in prison. My account of NorplantRTM and liberalism integrates the theoretical components of my research with my analysis of the discourse of NorplantRTM. I conclude by questioning the adequacy of appeals to privacy and choice in resisting reproductive policies.