The Politics of Motherhood; Maternity and Women's Rights in Twentieth-Century Chile

摘要

Throughout the twentieth century, Chile pursued reproductive policies that were unique among Latin American countries. Beset by extremely high rates of infant and maternal mortality, Chilean physicians initially blamed mothers for their lack of fitness and intelligence. Chilean policymakers by 1930 embraced the politics of population control advocated by the Rockefellers' International Planned Parenthood group with a vengeance. Not only did Chileans legalise therapeutic abortion in 1931, but physicians allied with the Catholic Church also advocated the use of IUDs, many of which had not been subjected to prior studies and which were inserted without the patient's consent.