Amish Medicinal Beliefs, Practices, and Practitioners: Medical Hegemony and its Role in Amish Medical Decision-Making

Laura Ballou

A power struggle over medical hegemony has ensued between the Amish and the outside biomedical community.This paper considers the problems that face the liberal Amish when making decisions regarding medical care and examines the role of hegemony using birth control and cell phones as examples. Amish medical practices and perceptions will be examined in detail, as will the role of alternative healers within their community.

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