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The Content and Process of Women's Decision-Making Viewed Through The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fogler Library 1999 The onC tent And Process Of Women’s Decision- Making Viewed Through The Lenses of Feminine/ Feminist Ethics And Roman Catholicism Nancy Parent Bancroft Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd Part of the Ethics in Religion Commons, Sociology Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Bancroft, Nancy Parent, "The onC tent And Process Of Women’s Decision-Making Viewed Through The Lenses of Feminine/Feminist Ethics And Roman Catholicism" (1999). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 668. http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/668 This Open-Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. THE CONTENT AND PROCESS OF WOMEN’S DECISION-MAKING VIEWED THROUGH THE LENSES OF FEMININE/FEMINIST ETHICS AND ROMAN CATHOLICISM By Nancy Parent Bancroft B.A. Marillac College, 1973 M.A. Loyola University, 1975 C.A.S. St. Michael’s College, 1995 A THESIS Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Individualized in Ethics) The Graduate School University of Maine May 1999 Advisory Committee: Jean Symonds, Associate Professor of Nursing and Coordinator of RN Studies, Advisor Jeffrey Hecker, Associate Professor of Psychology Philip Keane, Professor of Moral Theology, St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Baltimore, MD Kristina Passman, Chairperson and Associate Professor of Classical Language and Literature Therese Shipps, Director and Associate Professor School of Nursing Erling Skorpen, Professor of Philosophy THE CONTENT AND PROCESS OF WOMEN’S DECISION-MAKING VIEWED THROUGH THE LENSES OF FEMININE/FEMINIST ETHICS AND ROMAN CATHOLICISM By Nancy Parent Bancroft Thesis Advisor: Dr. Jean M. Symonds An Abstract of the Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Individualized in Ethics) May 1999 The purpose of this investigation was to expand the understanding of ethical decision-making by contributing women’s experiences and thoughts to the issue. Fifty women shared a decision that they had made or were in the process of making having to do with their health or reproductive life. The research method of phenomenology was used with the women in the semi-structured interviews in an attempt to capture the meaning that they gave both to what they paid attention to and to the process that they used in arriving at their decisions. After researchers gained as clear a rendering as possible of the ethical situations from the participants’ perspectives, an attempt was made to propose theory emerging from that understanding. Feminine and feminist theories and thinking rooted in the Roman Catholic tradition were used as lenses to help shed light on the data grounded in the women’s experiences. Member check, peer debriefing and a confirmability audit were all used to insure the trustworthiness of the research. The core process of relational autonomy was found to be descriptive of how the women made their decisions. Several findings supported this conclusion: All of the women in this study presented themselves as aware of their interconnection with others. Each made her decision by attempting to respond to the specific needs that surfaced in her particular dilemma. At the same time, half of the women specifically identified self-care as one of their major concerns in making their decisions. Though their choices were reflective of moral principles and the values underlying their religious traditions, none of the women looked to traditional ethical principles or religious directives for guidance in making their decisions. Finally, the majority of women consciously protected their power to decide for themselves. Looked at as a whole, the women in this study value autonomy in their decision-making but view it differently than how it is presented in traditional ethics. While protecting their decision-making power, they make their decisions aware of themselves as interconnected persons and in consideration of the effects that their decisions have on others. ii Acknowledgments For most of my life, when reading a book, I skipped over the acknowledgments and dove into the content. In later years, I sometimes found myself curious about who might be recognized with gratitude by the authors whom I held in high esteem. What I noticed was that almost every writer used the same words and acknowledged the same groups of people as having been helpful. However, once immersed in my doctoral program, I came to understand very clearly that the acknowledgements are not simply a formality, and that words are frustratingly inadequate to convey the deep appreciation for those who have been particularly helpful in this difficult process. In the pursuit of this degree, I experienced an ever-increasing awareness of the generosity of large numbers of people who graciously came to my aid time and time again. Particularly moving was the cheerful help from busy people that I had not known prior to asking them for help. Among this group is Gayle at the office of the Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research. Though we had never met, she helped me meet an important deadline, by dictating requirements to me over the phone and hand-carrying the packet of materials to the post office clear across campus. Though I had no affiliation with the school other than proximity, Peggy Menchin at the Colby library welcomed me cheerfully and spent many summer hours birthing me into the world of computer research. There are helpful people whose faces I never saw, like the research librarians at the Maine State Library who ordered tons of books from all over for me. The many acts of iii kindness from so many unknown people reaffirmed my belief the world is filled with wonderfully generous people. There are particular individuals without whose help I would not have completed this project. I will always be grateful to Dr. Jean Symonds, who generously agreed to chair my advisory committee. I always left her office feeling encouraged, capable and surely cared for. I owe a great deal of gratitude to the other members of the committee. Dr. Therese Shipps, Father Philip Keane, Dr. Erling Skorpen, Dr. Kristina Passman and Dr. Jeffrey Hecker, each contributed valuable knowledge from his or her area of expertise, always welcoming me cheerfully, and patiently working with me. I am so thankful to have met Louise Marcoux who contributed countless hours as co-interviewer. Our peer review sessions were beneficial and enjoyable because of who she is. I am grateful to Jocelyne Rancourt, the office manager who was responsible for women volunteering to be interviewed. In her friendly and respectful manner, she presented the interviewing experience as safe and at the same time allowed them true freedom to decide about being part of this project. I owe deep gratitude to Dr. Michael Drouin who generously welcomed me into his practice and spent untold amounts of time providing me with invaluable medical experiences, information and ethical insights. A special thank you to Glenda Hamilton who took on the tasks of typing and APA policing to ensure technical accuracy. Thank you to the staff at the University of Maine library, particularly Christine Whittington. I am very appreciative of Ellen, Marcia and Dottie in the Graduate School office. They were helpful guides through iv the requirements of an individualized program of studies. My dear friend Marguerite Stapleton took on the tedious task of editing. I am grateful for that help as well as for her helpful and reassuring feedback. There are no words to thank Tom. His loving support and encouragement kept me going when it all felt like it was too much. Taking on most of what needed doing at home allowed me to complete this dissertation. I wish to give special thanks to the women who agreed to be interviewed. In sharing their stories and insights they have given us a better understanding of how women make decisions. Finally I gratefully dedicate this project to my mother, Dorothy Verville Parent. I continue to experience support from her strength and her love. Though she died before this project was completed, she remains with me. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments …………………………………………………………………….. ii List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………... vii Introduction……………………………………………………………………………. 1 Purpose…………………………………………………………………………... 2 Problem Statement and Significance……………………………………………. 3 Researchers Assumptions………………………………………………………... 14 Research Questions……………………………………………………………… 15 Overview………………………………………………………………………… 16 Literature Review and Theoretical Framework………………………………………... 17 The Role of Ethics in Society……………………………………………………. 17 Feminist and Feminine Decision-Making……………………………………….. 18 Decision-Making in the Roman Catholic Tradition……………………………... 33 Process of Ethical Decision-Making…………………………………………….. 45 Content of Ethical Decision -Making………………………………………….. 57 Commonalities in Feminine/Feminist Views and Roman Catholicism…………. 59 Theoretical Foundations of Research Methods………………………………….. 64 Summary…………………………………………………………………………. 69 Methodology…………………………………………………………………………… 71 Rationale for Research Design…………………………………………………... 71 Description of Participants………………………………………………………. 73 Research Personnel……………………………………………………………….
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