3D Ultrasound Pushes Boundaries

Last weeks readings highlighted how technological advancements reinforced/displaced boundaries of gender, touching lightly on the area of ‘laparoscopy’ and the ‘critical role it had played in the assessment of foetal development’. This got me thinking about how technology has not only had an effect in reinforcing/displacing boundaries in relation to gender, but also in relation to social issues, especially in relation to the area of foetal development and abortion.

During the 1970’s the widespread introduction of ultrasound in the area of obstetrics lead to a heating of the debate among ‘pro-life’ and ‘pro-abortion’ groups about the ethical and moral issues surrounding abortion, as it was used to visually highlight the level of development of foetuses at early stages of pregnancy. This technology was grasped by ‘pro-life’ groups, including the distribution of the video The Silent Scream consisting of an ultrasound taken during an abortion at 11 weeks gestation in the US. While quite benign by today’s standards, this video lead to intense debate during the time, in some cases swaying the opinions of those on both sides of the issue and is an example of the use of technology to further a group’s stance on a social issue . While this may now all be history, recently with the introduction of 3D ultrasound into the mainstream enabling a real-time 3D view of a foetus(see photo above), technology has interestingly once again stirred the issue of abortion, and is again being used by ‘pro-life’ groups as further evidence of the advanced development of the foetus early in pregnancy.

While obviously everyone has different opinions on the issue of abortion, I think it is a good example of a contentious issue of which debate surrounding it has been heavily influenced by technology over the years, and still is today. It also brings into question the effects that technology has in shaping the direction of debate surrounding all social issues.

Alisdair Hungerford-Morgan