From the 1930’s through the 1970’s Puerto Rico had the highest rate of abortions. About one-third of the women of childbearing age had been sterilized. Sterilization was so common that it was known as “la operation” . The U.S. department of Health, Education, and Welfare had a big role in funding the Puerto Rico’s sterilization program. The program was brought to Puerto Rico by the International Federation of Planned Parenthood (IPPF). The planned was implemented by the U.S. using political its ties. The IPPF is a private organization, the majority of its founding comes threw the U.S.. Some studies say the program was designed to meet the needs of the women. Other studies say that the program, was used for social control and cultural imperialism.
The Program took place during a time of depression. It lead to a mass migration from the island to the U.S.. The people moved to New York to find jobs. The women were being treated like 3 rd world citizens. The population had doubled in about 40 years. The program not only focused on abortions. It focused on applying the use of contraceptives, to curve the population growth. Women were encouraged to for take in the sterilization process. Although the procedure was “voluntary”. Women were not properly educated properly. The other forms of birth control were also costly. The program was aimed at poor women. The operation was cheap inexpensive, so that low poor women could afford it. “In 1950, 17.8 percent of all hospital births were followed by a sterilization procedure.” This was because the time needed to recover from the operation. Overlapped the time it took to recover from giving birth.
References:
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~epf/1999/gormley.html
http://womenst.library.wisc.edu/bibliogs/puerwom.htm
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