4.1
.RACISM.BIRTH CONTROL AND REPRODUCTIVERIGHTS'
AngelaDavis
\\ lren nineteenth-centuryfeminists raised the dcmand for 'voluntary mother- lr,,ocl'.the c:rrnpaignfor birth control was born. Its plrponents rverec:rlled rad r,.rlsand they rveresubjectcd to the srlnrenrockerl rrshad hcf.rllrnthc initiel .r(lv()catesof woman suffr:rge.'Vrluntarv motherhood'was consideredauda- , r( outrageousand outlandishb,v those rvho insistcd wives h:rtino right 'us, that r,I r'efuscto satisfytheir husbands'sexua I urges.Eventualll, of course,the right r,, birth control, like worren's right to vote, would be more or lesstaken tor lr.rrted by US public opinion. Yct in 1970, a fulJccntury later,the call for legal .,rrdeasily accessible abortiorrs *'as no lesscontroversial th:rn the issueof'vol ,,,rt.rrymotherhood' u,hicbhad originally launchedthe birth control movemcnt rrrthe United States. llirth control - individual choice, safc contraceptivemethods, as well as ,l,ortionswhcn necessary- is a fundamentalprerequisite for the em.rncrpao,,rr , 'i rvomen.Since the right of birth control is obviously advantageousto women ,'i lll classesand races,it would appe:rrthat even vastly dissimilar women's : r,lrps rvould haveattemptcd fo unitr around this issue.In rcality,however, the 'r th control tnovement has seldom succeedcdin uniting women of diffcrerrt .,,ciaJtrackgrounds, and rarelv have the movement'sleaders popularized thc ,,'rrtrineconccrns of rvorking classwomen. Moreover, argLrmentsadvanced I'r birth control advocateshavc sorretirres bccn bascd on blatantlv racist
,,,r: Angela D.tvis {1981), 'R:cisrr, Birth (lntrol end Rcproducti!e R,ghts, pt. 102-71. in la I)avis, \Yamcn, Rarcantl (l.ondor: lhe Women\ Prcss,Ne$ )i)rk, Rsndom Housr. 'rIr Class
353 ANGELADAV]s
premises.The progressiveporcntial of birth control rerrains indisputable.Bur in actuirlit,v.the historicalrecord of this rrovement leavesmuch to be desiredin the realm of challcngesto racism and classcxploitation. Thc most inportant vjctory of the contcmporary irirth controi rlovcnent rvas won during the earlv 1970s rvhen abortions \vere ar lesr declaredlegal. Having energed during the infancyof the new Wirmen'sLiberation nrovemenrr the struggleto legalizeabortior.rs incorporated.lll rhe enthusi:lsmand the mili tirncy ol tlre young ntovcmenr.Bv Januarl', 1973,the abortion rights camp.rrgn had reacfrecl:r triunlph.nt culmination. In Roc r,. \Yade (410 US) and Doe r,r. Bolton (410 US),the US SupremeCourt ruled that a woman's right to personal privacy implied her right to decidewhether or nor ro have an ahorrron. The ranks of the abortion rights campaign did not include subst:rntial numbers of womcn of color. (liven the racial conrpositiou of the largcr V(rmen's Liberatior movcment,this was not at all surprising.\(hen quesrions wcrc raisedabout the abscnceof racially oppressedwomen In both thc larger move[lent and in the abortion rights cantpaign,two explanationslvere c(]m- nronly proposedin the discussionsand literatureof the period: women of coJor rvereoverburdened by their people'sfight irgainstr:rcism; and/or they had not yet bccomeconscious of rhc centraliry of sexism.But the real rneaningof the almost lilv rvhite complexion of tlre abortion rights campaign vvasnor ro be lound in an ostensiblymyopic or underdevelopedconsciousness amorg women of color The truth lay buried in the ideological undcrpinnings of the birth colltr(Jlnro\.elnent itself. The failure of the abortion rights campaign to conduct a historical self evaluation led to a dargcrously strpcrficialappraisal of Black people'ssuspi- cious attitudes torn'ardbirth control in gcneral. (irantecl, rvhen sorne lJlack people unhesitatinglvequated birth control with genocide,it 354 'RAClsM,BrRrH CoNTROL AND REpRoDUCTTVERTGHTS' ains indisputable.But l,rrrtionsentiments. The,v ',vere in favor ctfabortton rlgbts,which did not mean rruch to bc dcsiredin rlr,rlthev wcre proponentsof abortion. I(hen Black rrnd l,atina women resort t,,,rbortiortsirr suchlarge numbers, the storiestl-rel tell are not so much lbout th control movement rir,ir Sherejoiced that thc girl $'asdeaci -'now slrc u,ould ncver know u,hat a luct a historical self woman suffersas a slave'- anclplcaclecl to be tried for nrurder'l *,ill gcr Black people'ssuspi- singingto thc gallows rather than be returned to slaver_v!'r :d, rvhen some Black le, it clid appear to be Why were sclf imposed abortions and reluctant acts of infanticide such rights activisrs (()rnmon 'ortion occurrencesduring slavery?Not becauseBlack women had discov genocidewcre impor- , fcd solutjons to their predic2rment,but rathcr becauscthey were desperate. t. This movcment,for \bortions and infanticideswerc actsof dcspcration,motivated not by the bio- zation a racist form logicalbirth processbut by the oppressiveconditions of slavery.Most ol these 3ht to plan their preg' \v()nren,no doubt! would haveexpressed their deepestresentment had someone and abortions u'ould lr.riledtheir abortions as a stcppingstonc to$'ard frcedorrr. During the early abortion rightscampaign it rvastoo frequentlyassumed th.lt vonen of color fail to l, gal abortions provided a viable alternativeto the myriad problems posedby white sistersu,ith thc 1,,rvertv.As if having fewer children could create more jobs, higher wages, 1profit in illegality.In l,etterschools, etc., etc. This assumprionreflected the tendencyto blur thc dis- ng the decriIninaliza- rrr)ctionbetween abortion rights and the g,eneraladvocacy of abortions. The aths causedby ilJeg:rl (.rmpaignoften failed to proviclea voice for women who wanted the /iglr, to rmediitcly afterward, lcgalabortions while deploringthe socialconditions that prohibited them trom rtions.If thc abortion lrr:aringmore children. I that wonen of color The renewedoffensive against abortion rights that erupted duringithe latter rtionists,they should lralfof the 1970shas rrade it absolutelynecessary to focus more sharplyon thc bout to expresspro- rrtedsof poor and racially oppressedwomen. By 1977 the passageof the Hyde 355 Il5 ANGELADAVIs Ameudment in (iongresshad mandaredthe withdrarval of federalfunding for abortions,causing manv statelegislaturcs to follorv suit. Biack, Puerto Ricrn, Cihicanaand Native Amcrican womcn, togetherwith their irrpoverishrd rvhitc sisters,rver.e thus elfectivclvdivesteti of the right to lcgal rbortions- Sincesur- gicrrl sterilizrtions, fLrndcd bv the f)epartment of Health, Education and Wclfare, remaineclfree on dcrrand, more and more poor rvomen have been forced to opt for permancrrtinfertility. Vhat is urgentl,vrequircd is a broad crmp:rignto defendthe reproductiverights of :rl1rvomen - and especi:rllvthose $'omen u'hose economic circumstancesoften compel them to relinquish the right to reprodr"rctionitself. \Vomen'sdesire to control their reproductives1'stcnr is probablv as oro as hrrmrrnhistory itself.As earl,vas 1814 thc LlnttedStates I'ractrcdl ReceilttBook cont;rined,amonli its many recipesfor food, householdchemicals and medi- cines,'receipts'for'birth prevenrivelotions'. Trr rnake 'HanD:ry'sPreventive Lotion', for example T:rke pearlash, I parr; rrarer, 6 parts. Mix and filter. Keep it in closed bottles,and usc it, rvith or without soap,immcdretely after conncxion.i Iior 'Aberrretlry's Preventive l,otion' Teke bichloridcof nlercur\',2-5 pirrrs; nrilk of aLronds, 400 parts;alcohol, 100 p:rrts; rosew:rtet 1000 prrts. Immerse the glands in a little of the mixture . . . Infalliblt. if usedilt propcr timc... While womcn have probably alu'aysdreamecl of infalliblc methods of birrh control, it was not until tlte issueof \\'omen'srights in getreralbec:rme the focus of an organizedmovemcnt that rcproductiverights could enrergeas a legifimtte demand. ln an essaycnritled 'Marriage', written during the 1850s, Sarah Cirirnkeargued for a 'right on the parr of woman ro decidc t,/:ezrshe shall becomea mothet hou, often and under u'hat circumstances'.tAlluding to one phvsician'sbumorous observation,Grimke agreedthat, if wives and husbands alternativelygave birth to their children,'no farnily would ever havemore rh21n three,the husband bearingone and the wifc nvo'.3 But, as sheinsists,'the riglit to decidcthis matter has beenalmost wholly deniedro woman'.'r Sarah (irimke advocatedwomcn's right to sexu.rl:rbstinence. Around the same time the well-knorvn 'emanciparcdmarriage'of Lucy Stone and Henrv Blackwell took place. Thcse abolitionists :rnd wonren's rights .rctrvrstswere rnarried jn a ceremony that protestedwomcn's traditional relinquishmentof their rights to their persons,names and property.In agreeingthat, as husband, he had no right to the'custody of the wife's person',r0I-lenryBlacku,ell prorn isedthat he would not attempt to imposcrhe dictatesof his sexualdesrres upou his wife. The notion that women could refuseto submit to their husbands'sexual clem:rndseventually becane rhe central idea of the call for'volunrary mother, hood'. Br the 1870s,when the rvomansuffragc movement had reachedirs peak, 356 'RActsM,BrRTH CoNTRoL AND REpRoDUcrvERIcHTS' of federalfunding for lr rrinistswcrc publiclv advocatingvoluntarv motherlrood.In a speechdelir'- Black,Puerto Rican, , red in 1873,Victoria lVoodhull clairnedthar: ir impoverishedwhite The wife who submitsto sexLlrlliDtercourse against her lvishesor desires, abortions.Since sur yirtually comrnitssuicidc; u'hile the husbandwho compelsit, c, 'rrlth. Fldr.rcationand 'mmrts murder,and ought just as much to be purislred for it, as thougtr he stran- ()r womcn nave t)ecn glcclher to death for refusinghim.r 1 v requiredis:r broatl anclespecialll'thosc \\ixrdhull, of course, u,:rsquite notorious rts 11proponent of'free love'. Her rcrr to relinquish the ,lLfense of a woman's right to abstainfrom sexualintercorrrsc within rnarr.rgc L\ rl means of controlling her pregnancieswas associatedu'ith Woodhull's is probably as old as ''r,r.rll arr.r.kon lhe rn'rrrrrri,,rrol rnarriage. 'racticalReceipt Btnk It was not a coincidencethat women's consciousnessof their reproductive chemicalsancl mcdi r rqhtswas bom *'ithin the organizednovcment for rvorrcn'spolitical equllity. 'I-Iannay'sPrcvcntivc lrrtleed,if u,omen remaincd forever burdenedb,v incessant childbirths and frc (lrrentmjscarriilges, they would hardly be able to exercisethe political rights tlrcvrnight win. Moreover,women's nevl dreamsof pursuing citreersand other Itcr Keep it in closecl t'.rthsofself tlevckrpmentoutsiclc marri:rge:rnd motherhood could only be real ely after connexiol.' rrt clif they could limit and plan their pregnancies.In this sensc,thc slog:rn'vol l|rrtilry motherhood' contained a new and gerruinelVprogressive vision of rrornanhood. At the sametime, however,this vision u,as rigidly bound to the ds,.100parts; alcohoi, lrlcstvleenjoved by the middle classesard the bourgeoisie.The aspir:rtiorrs rrrLlsrn rr little of the rrrderlyingthe demrnd for'voluntar,v motherhood'did not reflectthe condi- tr,rnsol workittg-cllss rrortren,cnglrgccl trs tht,t $'ere in lr fltr nrorc ftrnclrtrne- lible methodsof birth r.rl fight for economic sun'ival. Since this first call for birth control u'as reralbccamc thc focus .Lrrociatedwith goals which could only be achievcd by women pL,sscssrnll erDergeas a legitirnate rrrterial we.rlth,vast numbcrs of poor and u,orking-classrvomen woulcl find it ng the 1850s,Sarah r.rrherdifFcult to identifv with the embryonic birth control moverrenr. iecide r.abel she shall Rrward thc end of the nineteenthcentury thc white birth rate in the tlnited rces'. AlJudingto one strtes suffered a signilicant clecline.Since no co[traceptive innovations had if rvivesand husbands lu cn publicly introduced, the drop in the birth rate implied that women were d everhave nore than '.rrbstantiallycurtailing their sexual activiry. By 11390the typical native borD rr s sheinsrsts,'rhe l.qi1 ltite woman was bearingino more than four children.ll SinceIJS s, 'clctv \ '-rs r'oman'.! 1,,eoming increasingly urban, this new birth pattern should not havebeen a sur- )stinence.Around the 1,rise.While farm life dcmanded large families, they became dysfunctional ucy Stone and Henrl ithin the cootext of citv life. Yet this phenomenon publicly in 'r u'as interpreted ; rigbts :rcrivistsu,ere . racist and anti working classfashion bv the ideologuesof rising monopoly n:rl relinquishment of ,,rpit:rlism.Since native born white w(rren werc bearing fewer children, the cing that, as husb:rnd. .l)(cterof'race suicide'wasraised in officialcircles. enr,vBlackwell pronr- In 1905 PresidentTbeodore Rooseveltconcluded his Lincoln D:ry Dinner rissexual desires upon .pcechwith the proclamationthat 'racepuritl' must be maintaincd'.rr By 1906 lr(' blatantl_vcquated the fajling birth r2rteamong native-born whitcs q'ith thc ecir husb:rnds'sexual rrrrpendingthreat of'race suicide'.In his Statcof thc Union messagethat year or'voluntary rlother l(ooscveltadmonished the weli-born white \()men who engagedin'rvillful t had rcachedits pcak, ..rcrility- the one sin for u'hich the penalty is n:rti(xtal death, race suicide'.rr 357 1 ANGELADAVIS : Thesecomments were made during a period of acceleratingracist ideology and of great waves of race riots and lynchingson the domestic scene.Moreovet PresidentRoosevelt himself was atrempring ro muster suppoft for the US seizureof the Philippines,the counrry'smost recrnr ,mperialisivenr,rre. How did the birth control movemenrrespond ro R,,osevelt.saccusation that tnelr causewas promotrng race suicide?The president'spropagandistic pkry was a failure, accordingto a leadinghistorian of the bi.rh cont.or movemenr. for, ironically,it led to greatersupport for its advocates.yet, as Linda Gordon maintains,this controversy'also brought to the forefront thoseissues that most separatedfeminists from the working classand the poor,.1i This happenedin rwo ways. First, the feministswere increasinglyempha sizing birth control as a route to careersand higher education_ goalsour of reach of the poor with or without birth control. In the context of the whole feminist movement! the race-suicideepisode was an additional factor identifying feminismalmost exclusivelywirh the aspirationsof the more privilegedwomen of the sociery.Second, rhe pro birih control fem- inists beganto popularizethe idea thar poo, p.upL had a moral obliga- tion to restrict the size of their families, becauselarge famihescreare ,r drain on the taxes and chariry expendirure,,,f rhe wealrhy and becausc poor children were lesslikely to be ,superior,.r6 The acceptanceof the race-suicidethesis, to a greater or lesserextent, by rvomensuch asJulia Vrard Horve and Ida HustcclHrrper reflectedrhe suffragc movement'scapitulation to the racistposture of Southernwomen. lf the suffra_ gistsacquiesced to argumentsinvoking the extensionof the ballot to women as the savinggrace of white supremacy,then birth control advocateseither acqui_ escedto or supportedthe new argumentsinvoking birth control as a meansol preventing the proliferation of the'lower classes,andas an antidore to racc suicide.Race suicidecould be preventedby the introducion of birth control among BIackpeople, immigrants and the poor in general.In this wa5 the pros- perous whites of solid Yankee stock could maintain their superior numbers within the population. Thus class-biasand racism crept into the birth control movement when it was still in its infancy. More it was assumed "nJ within birth control circlesthat poor women, Black and-nr., irnmigrant alike, hacl a 'moral' obligation to restrict the sizeof their families,.17What was demandetl ,duty'for as a'right'for the privilegedcame to be interpretedas a the poor. When Margaret Sangerembarked upon her Iifelong crusade for birth control - a term shecoined and popularized- ir appearedas though rheracist an 358 t€ 'RAC|sM,BrRTH CorutRor e|.]o Rrpaooucrrvr Rrcsrs' ng racist ideologyand spacetheir pregnanciesautonomously. Her affiliation, as an adult, with the :stic scenc.Moreover, Socialistmovement was a further causefor hope that the birth control cam- ' support for the US paign would moye in a more progressivedirection. :rialist venture. \?hen Margaret Sangerjoined the Socialistparty in 1912, she assumedthe evelt'saccusation that responsibilityof recruiting women from New York's working women's clubs s propagandisticploy into the party.l8 The Call - rhe pany's paper - carried her articles on the th control movement, women'spage. She wrote a seriesentitled'What Every Mother ShouldKnow', Yet, as Linda Gordon inother called'What Every Girl Should Know', and shedid on-the-spotcover- thoseissues that most ageof strikesinvolving women. Sanger'sfamiliarity with New York's working- i '.l classdistricts was a result of her numerousvisits as a trained nurseto the poor sectionsof the city. During thesevisits, she points out in her autobiographn she 'e increasinglyempha- met countlessnumbers of women who desperatelydesired knowledge about education- goaJsout birth control. . In the context of the Accordingto Sanger'sautobiographical reflections, one of the many visitsshe :le was an additional ntadeas a nurse to New York's Lower East Sideconvinced her to undertakea the aspirationsof the personalcrusade for birth control. Answering one of her routine calls, shedis- :ro-birth control fem- coveredthat twenty-eight-year-oldSadie Sachs had atrempredto abort herself. e had a moral obliga- Once the crisishad passed,the young woman askedthe attendingphysician to arge families createa give her adviceon birth prevention.As Sangerrelates the story,the doctor rec- wealthy and becausc ommendedthat she'tell [her husband]Jake to sleepon the roof'.re I glanccdquickly to Mrs. Sachs.Even through my suddentears I could see , or lesserextent. hv stampedon her facean expressionof:rbsolute despair.rVe simply looked r reflectedthe suffrage at eachother, saying no word until the door had cioseclbchind the doctor Lwomen. If the suffra Then shelifted her thin, blue veinedhands and claspedthem beseechingly. he ballot to women as 'He can't understand.He's only a man. But you do, don't you? Pleasetell dvocateseither acqui- me the secret!and I'll never breatheit ro a soul. Please!'zo control as a meansol rs an antidote to racc Three months later SadieSachs died from another self-inducedabortion. That ction of birth control night, Margaret Sangersays, she vowed to devote all her energytowards rhe . In this way, the pros- acquisitionand disseminationof contraceptivemcasures. Leirsuperior numbers I went to bed, knowing that no matter what it might cost, I was finished into the birth control with palliativesand superficialcures; I resolvedto seek out the root of nore, it was assumecl evil, to do somethingto changethe destiny of mothers whose mrserres immigrant alike, hacl were as vast as the sky.2l What was demanded 'duty' for the poor. During the first phaseof Sanger'sbirrh control crusade,she maintainedher :sadefor birth control rrf6liationwith the Socialistparty - and the campaign itself was closelyasso rghthe racistand anti' ciated with the rising militancy of the working class.Her staunch supporters xrssibly be overcome. included Eugene Debs, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn and Emma Goldman, who ss background hersell respectivelyrepresented the Socialisrparty! the International Workers of the of poverty.Vhen hcr World and the anarchist movement.Margaret Sanger,in turn, expressedthe ,less than elevenchil- rlnti-capitalistcommitment of her own movement within the pages of its les would confirm hcr 1 359 ANGTLADAVIS workcrs end pLrbliclycon,:lcmned the outragcousassarrlts on striking u,orkers. In l 9l.l, for example,u,hen the Nationll (iuard massacrcdscores of (jhic:rno niners in l-udlorq (bloredo, Sangcrjoincd the labor movenent ro cxposrng Johl D. Rockefeller'srole in this attrck.rl tlnfortLrnatelv,thc alliancc between thc birtlr control c:rnrpaignirnd rht raclicalllbor movement did not enjo,va long Jife.\{hilc Soci:rlisrsand other n'orking-cl:rssitctivists conrinued ro support tlrc dcmand for birth contrrl, it did not occupy.1 celrr:rl placein their ovcrall straregv.Ancl Sanger herself bcgrn to uncleresrim.rrethc ccntrrlity of capitalistcxploitation in her analvsisof poverty,itrgulltg thar r(x) manv children causedworkers ro fall into their mis erablc predicarncnt.N{oreover, 'wonrcn u,ere inaclvertentl,vperpctuating fhc ,by cxploitntion of thc rvorking cLass',she believed, conrinually fJoodingtht labor m:rrket with ncu workers'.lr lronicall,v,Slnger may havc been encour, aged to adopt this positronby the neo Maltbusian iders embr:rcedin somc socialistcircles. Such outstirndingfigures of the European sociaiistnrovemenr .birth 2rsAnatolc Franceand Rosal.uxenburg h:rdproposed e strike'to prevent the continued flow of labor into the capitalistDrarkt.ri V/hen Marg:rret Sarrgerscvered her ties u,ith the Socialist party for thc purposc of Lruildingan indepenclentbir.th contnrl cirmpirign,she and her fol lolversbccame more susccptiblethan ever bcfore to the anti-Black;rntlanti- rmmigrrnt propaganciaof thc times. l_ike thcir preclcccssors,rvho had beel dcceivedby the'racesuicide'propaganda, rhe rdvocates of l)irth control beg:rn to crrrbrecetht prcr:rilingrrrcist icleoloq\.. Thc fetll inilrrcnccof thc cugelicr rnovementu,ould soon destrov the progressivepotcnti:rl of thc ltirth contr0l c:rnrpa ign. I)uring the firsr decadesof the rwentiethcentury rhe rising popularit,vof thc cugenicsmovement u'as harclll a fortuitous cleveloprncnt.F.ugenic ideas werr, pcrfectlv suited to the ideokrgicalncctls of the loung monopoly capitalists. lruperi:rlrstincursions in l-atin America:rnd in the pacrficneeded ro bc justifiecl. rrsdicl the intensifiedexploitation of Black u,orkersin rhe Sourhirird immigranl rv.rkers in the I.\ortlt a'd V/est. l'hc pseud.scientificracial the.ries i.rssocllte(l u'ith ttreeugcnics carnpaigl furnisheddramatic apologiesfor the conduct of thc young monopolies.As a rcsult,this movelItcntwon the unhesitatingsupport ol such leedingc:rpiralists as the Carrregies,rhe Hrrrinrns and the Kelkrggs.r.' Bv l9l9 the eugcnicilfluence on thc birth control novement wils unnllstak ably clear.In an article publishedby Nlargarct S:rngerin the i\merican Ilirrlr .mor(. CiontrolLeaguc's journal, shedcfined 'thc chiel issncof birth conrrol' as childrcn from the fit, lessfrom the unfit'.r Arountl this timc the ABCI_ herrt ily welcrrrredtlre rurhor of The Risng 'l ide rf Cokr Against Wbite \Vrn.ll Supreitu(y tllto its inner sanctum.lrLothrop Stocldard.I larvartl professor:rnrl theorcticianof the eugenics ntovement, was offereda searon rhe bo:rrdof direc tors. In the pagcsrhe ABCLs journal, arriclesby (iul, lrving Birch, crrectoror the,{merican}lugenics Societl beganto:rppear. IJirch advocated brrrh contr() as a weapon to'prevenr the Antcricirnpcople froln bcing rcpl:rcedby:rlien or 350 "!aF RIGHTS 'RAcrsty,BIRTH CoNTRoL AND REPRoDUcrlvE or hr orerly high hrnh rxtesamong stock,whether it be by immtgrrtton striking workers. Negro socret1,c.'"'Onll:l:11^i.t"l"-Tl othersin this countrv'.r'Bv 1932 tbi Fugenic' coresof Clhicano laws..andthat thousands twenty-sixstates had passeocompulsory'sterilization r0 ment in exPoslng preventcdfrom reproducing 9{,unfit' personshad alreadv t..n,u'git"lly 's""g.. of this development 'Morons' i*"r", offered her public approval lmpaign and the '#;;*l';";;;t,rr,r^ criminals' epileptics,illiterat"" p""pt"' unemplovables' cialistsand other sterilize-1'..:n.tr:t*uto'n aup. ntna'' ought to be surgicallv " r birth control, it n..r,J",", to leave them with no ""a did not wlsh to be so intransigentas rgerherself began radio talk.rr She r her analysis of choiceinthernatter;iftheywtshed,shesaid'theyshouldbeabletochoosea €xistencein labor camps' all into their mis lifelong segregated WithirrtheAmericanBirthCtlntrolLeague,thecallJorbinhcontrolamong perPetuatrngthe call for comPulsorysteriliza- peopleacquired the tnfi" the rally flooding the Black '"-t "tlgt "s pranneda the Birth control Federationof Amerrca' Lavebeen encour_ ;i;;.1;;ii i,t't"ccessor, ln the l-ederatirrn'' mbraced in some 'Negr,, lroirct'. "rordt: the South' still breedcarclesslv arrd rcialistmovement The massof Negroes,partrcularly in increasearnong Negroes' even more r strike'to prevent dir"*.ourly, with the resultthat the of the population least fit' and than among whites, is t'u--it'"t portion list party for thc Ieastable to rear children properly'rl , shc and her fol- local birth control com- (ialling recruitmentof Black ministersto lead ti Black and anti- for the that Black O::lt-;|"rr'U Ot mittees,the Federation'sproposal suggested " 's. u,ho had been propaganda 'we do not as possibleto th;i; birth control rrth corltrol Dcg,all cleredas vulnerable 'that Sangerin. a,letter a colleaBue' want word to gct out" tu"n" M^'ln'"t 1o :e of the eugenics the minister isthe man rvho the Ntgto loput"tinn and the birth control we want to exterminate occu's to any of their more rcbclli.us ;:r'r;;"t*;;" out that idea if it "uei tt'utment con6rmedthe ideolog- members'.rlThis episodein the t'i'th tt'nttol 1popularity of the ideas'tt robbed of of the racism eugcnic .ugenicideas were ical victory |i1 ll-t:" right "'utin"i-*itt'for peopleof colt'r not the individual t,t O",ential,advocating ropoly capitalists. tt"*."*tt. of p(tpuldtion corrlrol l-he birth crntrol,but rather rhe ,^.ir, *.",.iy ded to be justified, t 362 'RAcrsM,BTRTH CoNrRoL AND REPRODUCTIvERIGHTs' ar \While of pcople running delivertheir babies he was 'tired 3 and the Suprcrrr, ..,r,tcclhim to them wirh my taxe'"rr Dr Pierce , ,,,rr,J having babiesand paying for runcedin Janulr r ht.Pttf:tT:1' ".a rn taxpayers' fo' the steri[zation' abusebecatrr, ,, , , rvedsome $60,000 tion "ionty Carolina Medical Assoctatton' r ,,,,,uSho tri"l he was supportedby the South ' were horrifyittglr right to insrstt'n declaredthat doctnrr.hru" moral and legal ice,who was fotrr .l,,,r,i-embers " patientJif it is done on the initial ttf')",f.t permissionbefore acceptinga m! where surge()ll\ '', ra The surgeryh,r,l "','i*.l",inn, the complicity of of sterilizationabuse during that time exposed Action Commrttc, and At flrst the Def,artment of Htalth-..Education rly administeredt,, ,,,.';;;;;;i;;".ttment. wtrmen and 8'00t) men had been \\ cllrrreclaimed that apProximatel)'I b'0u0 t animals.-ri rr Later' however' \tndei the auspicesoi fecleralprograms I of the Relf sister'. ,,,,liiir.a i" 7972' Carl Shultz' director of HE!('s rlrcscfigures underwent a rirastic revision' nted' to the oper,r and 200'000 steril- Affairs Offtce,estrmated that between100'000 lled her daughters' l',pLrlation arDuring fundedthat year by the federalgovernment il ,,,ii-, i"i**"flv been to put her 'X' on sterili?ationswere carrred out unoer ii;,i.;; a.t-".y, incidentally,250!000 -.She assumed, slt, of the Nazis' Health Law'oi Is it possiblethat the record Lons.As she subst ,,', N-iJ Herejitary h"ut been almo-*.egualled bv us ' ;i;,,;";;;", the years of their reign,. of her daughters. yeart sterilizationsin the-ny space ol a srngle s' case,similar epi l,,uernment-funded of the united ( genocrdernflicted on the native population in their iiven the historical girls, also would be exemptedfrom the t,,,r.r,... *t"fa as..imethat Native Americans trol clinics in other to Dr Connie Uri,s testl r'rlvernment,sslertllzatlon campaign. But, according sterilizationabusc. cent of all ' 't"-"'in*' bv 1976' twenty-four per rgeousstories. t","i.rI 'illll.'il.lil1ff,'TTI:'ilijJl1L;:-:ffi ;;";,',;;;'r*i .''our b,r.::ld th Carolina. At thc commrtteet the Choctaw physrcia-n.ttrld the Scnare discon ii,r., U.ing stopped,' reatenedto "r. ro our people"asAccording 'Our will not be born ' ' Thrs is genocid'rl it to surgicalsteril' unborn had Health ServicesHospital in Claremore',Oklahoma' her to Dr. Uri, the Indian s assured that giving birth in that federalfacil- l)censterilizing one out of every four women diligently practiced iry." NativeAmertcansaresPeclaItargetsofgovernmentpropagandaonsteriliza- ics Commission ol people,there ts HEw pamphlet; aimed at Native American rd been carried out rion. In one of the one horse and anothtr sketch of a ,r'r'1.,.fl t?" f"-t ly with teu cbildren and iuresto Preventthe are supposedto imply that i",o,lf*irt rr" child andten borses-Thedrawings l0 of the sterilizcd mean,wealth' As if the mean more pnut'ty fewer chiidren lasteau, the ACLU rnore children "nd lent record was not ..''r'-,.'"**abytheone-childfamilyhadbeenmagicallyconjuredupby birth control and sterilizationsurgery' :al that since 1964, has an undeniably poPulatrotl policy of the US government Black and The domestic lina were Rican and Black women con- ,".iri.ag". Native American, Chicana' Puerto numbers A::o:di"q to a National tinue to be sterilizedin ai'p'ofo'tlo"^tt ealed,the neighbor- Office of conducted rn 1970 by Princeton Universitv's atrocities.Eighteen Fertility Study married Black women had beenper- PopulationControl, twenty per cent of ali beensterilized by a Chicana women sterilized.l0Approximately the samePercentage,of tician in that small per cent of the -""."i1t surgicallyinfertlie.lr Mo.eouer, forty-three or more had been rendered s wlth two programswere Black'51 women sterilizeclthrottgh lederallysubsidized ;istedthat pregnant " "ift. heen sterilized t'f Puerto Rican wirmen who have if they ,,u--'bt' ;terilization' "r,.tlrftltg 363 ANGELADAVIs rcflectsa specirllgovcrnmenr policy thar can be traced brck to t939. ll rhrrr ycar PresidentRoosevelt's lnterdeplrtment:rl (lonnittee on PuertoRico issuerl a statementattributing the islaDd'secononic problernsto the phenomenonol overpopul:rrion.iI This comrnittec proposed that efforts be undertaken t,, reducethe birth rate to no nrorc than the lcvel of the death rate.,l Soon aftcl wilrd an experimentalstcrilization campaigrt rvas nndertakenin Puerto l{ico. Although the Catholic Church initialJvopposed this experirnertrnd forceclthc cessationot the program in 1945, it wirs converrcddrrring the c:rrl1'1 9-50s ro the teachingsand practice j j of pop ulirrioncolttrol. In th is perioclover I -50 b irrlr control clinicswere opened,rcsulting in a twenty per cent declinein populariol grolr'th by the rlicl 1950s.ji.Bl the l970s over thirrv five per cent of rll Puerto j- llican u'omen of childbearingage had bcen surgicallvstcrilized. According to llonnic Mass, a seriouscritic of the US govcrnment'spopularion polic,v: if prrrclymathematical projections are to be taken seriously,if the presenr rate of sterilizationof 19,000moDthl,v wcrc to continLre,rhen the island's population of workcrs :rndpeasants coLrld bc cxtinguishcdrvithin the llexr 10 or 20 ycars... fcstablishinglfor the 6rst rime in $,orld history ir systematicuse of population coDtrolcapallle of eliminating an errrrrtgen eration of people.Js During the 1970s the devast:rringirnplications of the Puerto Rican experr ment beganto emergeu'ith unmistlkable clarity. In Puerto Rico tlrr presercr oi eorporrrtiorrsin thc highlv autontltr'(l rnetallrrrgic,rlrnd phrtrm:rccuticrrl inclustrieshad exaccrb:rtedthe problem of unemploymcnt.The prospcctof al ever-largerarmy of unemployedworkers rvasone of the ntain itrcentlvesfor tJtc nuss sterilizationprogram. Insidethe LlnitedStatcs toclal, enormousnumbers of pcopleof color - and especiallvracially oppresseilvourh - havebecome parr of a pool of pernanentlv unemployedrvorkcrs. It is harcllvcoincidentirl, con sideringthe Pucrto Rican example,that the incrcasingincidence of sterilization hes kept pace with the high rates of unemployment.As growirrg numbersof rvhitc peoplesuffer the brutal consequcnccsof unemployment, thev can ir]so expectto becometargets of thc official sterilizrtion propaganda. Tlre prevalenccof stefilizationabuse during rhe latter 1970smay be greater than ever before.Alrhough rhe Deparrmentof Health, Education irnd .Welfarc issucdguideliues irr 1974, which n'ere ostcnsiblvdesigned to prevenrinvoluir tary sterilizatior.ls,tbe situation has nonethelessdcteriorated. When thr Arnerican Civil l,ibertics llnion's ReproductiveFreedom Proiecf conducted a surveyof teachinghospit:rls in I 975, they discovercdthat fortv per centol those tnstrfutlor)swere Dot even aware of tlre regulationsissued by HII$(/.J'rOnh thirty per cent of thc hospitalsexamined by the ACI-LI rvcrceven amrmpung r() comply with the guidelines.6(' The 1977 Hyde Anendment has added yet another dimension to cLlercrlrj sterilizationpractices. As a resultof this iau passedby Congrcss,federal funcls for abortions wcre eliminatedin all casesbut thoseinvolving rapc and the risk 364 'Rlcrsn, BrnrHCoNTRoL AND REpRoDUclvERtcHTS' ack to 1939. ln that of death or severeillness. According to Sandra Salazar of the California ,n PuertoRico issued Department of Public Health, the 6rst victim of the Hyde ,\mendment rvas a , the phenomenonof twenty-seven-year-oldChicana woman from Texas.She died as a result of an s be undertaken to illegalabortion in Mexico shortly after Texasdiscontinued government-funded th rate.iaSoon after- abortions. There have been many more victims - women for whom steriliza- rken in Puerto Rico. tion has become the only alternative to the abortions, which are currently iment and forcedthe beyond their reach.Sterilizatiorrs continue to be federallyfunded and free,to Lgthe carly 1950sto poor women. on demand. reriod over 150 birth C)verthe last decaclethe stmggle againststerilization abuse has beenwaged Jeclinein population primarily by PuertoRican, Biack, Chicanaand Native Americanwomen. Their percent of all Pucrto causchas not yet beenembraced by the women,smovemenr as a whole. Within jt rilized. According organrzationsrepresenting rhe inrerestsof middle-classwhite women. there has lpulation policy: beena cert:rinreluctance to support tbe demandsof the campaignagainst ster ilization abuse,for thesewomen are often denied their individual rights riously,if the present to be sterilizedwhen they dcsireto take this step. lfhile women nue,then the island's of color are urged, at everyturn, to becone permanentlyinfertile, white women ishedr'"'ithin the next enjoyiugprosper- ous economic conditions are urgcd, by the same forces,to reproduce : in world histor,va them_ selves.l hey thereforesomerimes consrder rhe 'wairing penod' .rnJ other natxrgar entlregell- details of the demand for 'informed consent'to sterilizationas further inconvcnrences lor women like themselvcs.Yet whateverthe inconveniencesfor white middle- ?uerto Rican experi- classwomen, a fundamentalreproductive right of racially oppressedand poor i,, lirco thc presence women is at stake.Sterilization abuse must be ended. and pharmaceutical :. The prospectof an Norf.s ain incentivesfor the 1. EdwinM. Gold,er al., 'ThcrapeuticAbortions in New york City: A rwenrv-1,ear rcview',in Ancri.can of july ', enormousnumbers Journal Publn:Htalth, vol. t.V, l9bj. pp. 964_72. Quotedin LucindaCisla,'UnGnished Busrness: Brrrh cunrrul lnd wurnentlibera, -r- have part become tron', in Robin Morgan (ed.),Sisterhood ls Pct*,erful:Att antbologtoJ turltlltgs ll coincidental,con- fron theaomen s liberationmctuement lNew York: Vintage Books, I 970;,p. 26i. denceof steriLzation A,lsoquored in RobertStrples, l'he Black V/ctmanot Arzerrra(Ciicago, Nelson Hall, 1974),p. 146. growing numbers of 2. Herbert Gurman, The Black Fanly ir Slaueryaxd Frectlotn, l75Lt-19-25(Neu, they can also 'rment, York: PantheonIiooks, 1976), pp. 80-1, note. ganda. 3. Ibid., pp.80-1, note. 970s may be greater 4. Herbert Aptheker, 'The Negro Woman', in Herbert Apthcker (ed.), Massesanr_/ Maittstreant,vol. 11, no. lucationand !(elfare 2, p. 12. 5. Quoted in Rosalyn Bexandall,Linda Gordon and SusanReverby (eds),Arzencat I to prevent involun- Workitg Women: A docxtxentary history 160A tu *e p,,escrt (New york: riorated. When the Randorn Housc, 1976), p. 17. Project conducteda 6. Ibid..p. 17. 7. l-errrer, Gerda I'he orty per centof those led.), Female Experience: An Anerican docutttentarl, (lndianapolis,IN: tsobbsMcrrill Educationall\rblisher, 1977), p. 91. ed by HE\(.5e Only Ibid.,p. 91 :e evenattempting to 9. lbid.,p.91. 10. 'Marriageof Lucy SronelJnder Proresr', ;n HistlJryof lyonen Sufftage,vol. 1. in Miriarn Schneir,Fenirisnr: The york: imensionto coercive Quoted essentia!bistorical a,rrrirgs (New VintageBooks, 1972), p. 104. ,ngress,fedcral funds 11. Speechby VrrginiaVoodhuJI,'The lllixir of Lifc'. euoted in Schneir,Fernmtsnt, ing rape and the risk p.153. 365 ANGELA DAV S 12. N4.t11P Rr':n, Woar,lrrlorrrlfu Atlcntt /ront ()tktuaLTnttcs tr.rtLl l'rcscrr/{Nov York: l'nnklin w:ltts lnc.. 197-5),p. 162. 1-1.Nlelvin Steirrfeld,L)rr-lld.r.st I\1,sr./.,/ts(S.rn Remon, CA: CirrscnsusPublrshers. 1912).P. )12. 1,1. Bonnic N{irss,Poprlrrllo, Tdtgct:'l'ltt politiral L,crnotnl t)f popuhttnt.o toL,l Ldtin Atnctitd (lirronto: \)ironren'sF.ducetion l']rrss, 1977). p. 20. 1.5. I-ind.r (,ordon. llirr'rr s 13or111\\'orrrarri Rr.q/-'l:llith.o,itroI i/r Arr.r/.d (Ner\ York: PcnguinBooks. I976), p. I57. I5. Ibid., p. 1,5li. 17. Ibid., p. l5ll. 1ll. lli. Mrrgrrcr Srnee\ An Arlobiogrdpl-rr'1Ne*,York:L)ovcr Press, l97l)p.7.5. 19. Ibrd., p. 90. 2t). Ibid., p. 91. 21. lbicl.,p. 92. 22. Ibid., p. I05. 2.3. Mass, I'opuLdltotll'drttt, p.27. 1.1. Brucc l)encis,'Socralisrr.rnd\\irrnen in the LJritedStares. 1900 1912'.Sori'r1ist Rerolutton,2t-. r'ol.Vl, no. l, Jenurrl-N{lrch 1976,p.ii-5. l-5. l)evid Nl. Kenneclr,.Br-lb C-orlrol in Antcrtta:Tltc tutcct of Margarcl .larrgcr(t.\erv l leven, CT, and l.on(lon: Yelc Universitl,l'ress. 1976), pp. 2l 2.. 26. Nlass,l'()l) uLlt i("1 Targtt, p. 2(). 27. Ciordon. ll,'orrrar! Ilorl)l \I/o//r,?/r:Ri.qrl, p. l3l. fiJ. Mrss. Polrlntiotl lhlldl, p. 2i). 29. (iordon, \\rornau'sIlodt. \\:l)/7rirlr's.iir,,ir1. f- 2Nl. 10. llcrbcrt Aptheker. 'Sterilizati()n Experimcntrtion irnd Irnperialisnt'. I'olitiLal nfarr,.. vol. LIll, no. J, Jrrrurrl lt) /'1, p. 44. i1. (icnr (lorcir, T/,'zllr ddcn Nlalptactttt (NervYork: A Jove/llll Book, 1977),p. 149. ll (,orclon. \I/orrcr'-sllorll \v;lrnrr'-sRtfri, p-.132. lbid., pp..1j2-3. -1.1.Aptheker.'Stt rilization , ;r. 38. See.elso. Annc llr:rdcn, 'ForcetlSterilization: Norv wonrcr cirr fighr brck', SrrrrrDclrrPalriol. SeprtenLrcr197-1. i5. Ibid. .l6. Jilck Slatcr.'Sterilizrtiorr, Newest'I hrearto the Poor', F.1,,orr'.vol. XXVlll, no. 12, Octobcr 1973. p. l-50. -17. Ilraden, ForcedSteriliz:rtion'. 3li. l-cs P;rync. 'Forccd Stcrilizerion lor thc' Prxrr?', San l:rancisco (iltronrclc, l6 Februer,v1974. i9. Ileroid X.. 'I;orccclSrerilizetion Pcneclcs SoLrth , Nluhannted Speaks,l{l Octobcr 1975. 40- SlLrter,'Sterilizrrtion, Nervest-l-hreet to thf l\)or'. 4 L P:rync,'lirrccd Srerilizetion'. 42. Ibid. 4i. tbid. 44. Aptheker,'Sterrhzatron',p.,10. 4-5. P.ryne,'Forccd Stt'riliz a t ion'. ,,16.Aptheker. Sterilization',p. 48. 47. Arlcnc Erscn,'The,r'reTrling to Tirkc Our Future - N.rrivc Anrcricrn \lbmcn ancl Sterilizetron',Thc Guardtan,23 Merch I 97f. .1ii. lbrcl. .19. lbid. 50. Quoted in r pirtnphlc issuedb1'the Cilnmitrce ro hncl Srrrilizirtiol Ahusc, Bor A244, Cooper St.rtion,Ncw York 1000i. 5 l. rhid. 52. Ihid. (,orclon, 's 5.1. \\'otnan IJoLly,\I'orrrrr'-c Rrgl:t, p. -3-38. 366 'RAC|sM,BrRTH CoNTROL AND Repnooucttvr Rtcrrs' .s fo trc .l','eserl(Ne\\ ,.t. lbid.,p.338. Mass,Pop latioflTarget, p.92. ConsensusPublishers. lbid.,p. 91. Gordon,Wozrazi Body,Womat\ Rigbt,p. 401.Scc, also, pemphlet issued by the ' popltlatirl L:otrcl ,l Committce to lnd SterilizationALruse. P.20. \s. Mass,Poprl,?tion Target, p. 108. ttral u1 Anlerica lNc\| \'). RahemahArnan, 'ForcedSterilization', Unt<'n Wagr:,4 March 1978. r,t). Ibid. - l'ress,1971)p.75. 1.900 1912', Socialist Margaret,laager (Neu, L1 2. lmperialism'. Polltical llllook. 1977),p. I49. 'cedSterilizrtion: Now r, vol. XXVIll, no. 12, lncisco Chronicle, 26 ed Speaks,10 October Amcrican Worncn and :rilizrtion Abuse, 13ox 367