Reproductive loss: toward a theology of bodies

Abstract

ABSTRACT Reproductive loss—the loss of a pregnancy before 24 weeks—is estimated to occur in 20-50% of all pregnancies. It is a common human experience. However, it is an experience that is shrouded in silence and mystery. Not only is reproductive loss culturally taboo but given the marked absence of theological reflection on the experience, it would seem to be theologically taboo as well. The experience of reproductive loss raises profound theological questions about what it means to be (a gendered) human, issues of suffering, the providence of God, and eschatology. This research considers some of the reasons for this theological silence and begins to examine the experience of reproductive loss with the aim of taking the embodied experience of the miscarrying woman seriously as a site for theological reflection.