Long shadows : the sterilization movement and global fertility in the twentieth century

Many would be surprised to learn that the preferred method of birth control in the United States today is actually surgical sterilization. This book takes an historical look at the sterilization movement in post-World War II America, a revolution in modern contraceptive behavior. Focusing on leaders of the sterilization movement from the 1930's through the turn of the century, this book explores the historic linkages between environment, civil liberties, eugenics, population control, sex education, marriage counseling, and birth control movements in the 20th-century United States. Sterilization has been variously advocated as a medical procedure for defusing the "population bomb," expanding individual rights, liberating women from the fear of pregnancy, strengthening marriage, improving the quality of life of the mentally disabled, or reducing the incidence of hereditary disorders. From an historical standpoint, support for free and unfettered access to sterilization services has aroused opposition in some circles, and was considered a "liberal cause" in post-World War II America. This story demonstrates how a small group of reformers helped to alter traditional notions of gender and sexuality. Next To Global Warming, The Most Urgent International Issue Facing Governments In The Twenty-first Century Is Likely To Be The All-time Low Birth Rates Around The World, What Pundits Ben Wattenberg And Philip Longman Call The Birth Dearth And The Empty Cradle, Respectively. Now, For The First Time, Historian Ian Dowbiggin Explains That A Major Cause Of The Birth Dearth Was The Propagandistic Efforts Of A Handful Of Men And Women, Including Margaret Sanger, Alan Guttmacher, And Paul Ehrlich, Who In The Course Of The Twentieth Century Convinced Policy Makers And The Public That Sterilization Was The Best Means Of Population Control. Drawing On Archival Records, Some Rarely Seen Before, Dowbiggin Charts The Rise Of The Sterilization Movement From Its Modest Origins Immediately Following World War Ii To Its Current Status As One Of The Most Influential Players In The International Family-planning Field. Along The Way, He Documents How Family-planning Programs Based On Sterilization Targeted Poverty-stricken Areas Around The World. The Result, Dowbiggin Argues, Not Only Penalized The Poor And Minorities: It Also Appears To Be One Of The Biggest Policy Mistakes In Modern History. The Author Ends By Shedding Light On The Practical And Ethical Difficulties Of Distinguishing Coercion From Choice In Reproductive-health Policy. What Does Informed Consent In Birth Control Really Mean On The Ground? Whose Needs Are Actually Served In Attempts To Reduce Fertility Rates? According To Dowbiggin, The Twentieth-century Birth Control Movement Never Entirely Shed Its Eugenic Origins.--jacket. Up From Eugenics -- A New League -- The Poverty Bomb -- House On Fire -- A Great Wave -- Tarred And Feathered -- Going Global. Ian Dowbiggin. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 235-240) And Index. Why have birth rates plunged to all-time lows in the last half century? Why are societies aging so rapidly in the early twenty-first century? Where have all the babies gone? In The Sterilization Movement and Global Fertility in the Twentieth Century, historian Ian Dowbiggin reveals for the first time how these revolutionary events can be traced to the efforts of a small group of twentieth-century activists who tried mightily to convince governments that birth rates needed to be cut drastically and that sterilization was the best way to do it. Drawing on a wide variety of archival records, Dowbiggin's thesis that the world needs to radically reassess its approach to reproductive health issues in the new century is bound to spark controversy and stimulate debate for years to come Contents Prologue Chapter 1 Up from Eugenics Chapter 2 A New League Chapter 3 The Poverty Bomb Chapter 4 House on Fire Chapter 5 A Great Wave Chapter 6 Tarred and Feathered Chapter 7 Going Global Bibliography Abbreviations Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Z