Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 1-1-2012 "We Were Privileged in Oregon": Jessie Laird Brodie and Reproductive Politics, Locally and Transnationally, 1915-1975 Sadie Anne Adams Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Adams, Sadie Anne, ""We Were Privileged in Oregon": Jessie Laird Brodie and Reproductive Politics, Locally and Transnationally, 1915-1975" (2012). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 781. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.781 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible:
[email protected]. “We Were Privileged in Oregon”: Jessie Laird Brodie and Reproductive Politics, Locally and Transnationally, 1915-1975 by Sadie Anne Adams A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History Thesis Committee: Patricia Schechter, Chair Friedrich Schuler Tim Garrison Melody Rose Rickie Solinger Portland State University ©2012 ABSTRACT This thesis conveys the history of reproductive politics in Oregon through the life of Dr. Jessie Laird Brodie (1898-1990). Brodie was a key figure in this history from the 1930’s until the 1970’s, mainly through the establishment of family planning programs through social and medical channels in Oregon and throughout Latin America. Oregon’s reproductive legislation walked a fine line between conservatism and progressivism, but in general supported reproductive healthcare as a whole in comparison to the rest of the United States and Latin America.