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    Roberts

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    James Bond
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    DOROTHY ROBERTS KILLING THE BLACK BODY Jeter ether ‘Tomy prociou children, Anslean, Camilo and Yaoess THE DARK SIDE OF BIRTH CONTROL in Amerie, bh cool has bean an bln of eproductie ery iano ceomer oe ‘Ame woes ings pro el ogee tral deeden peaking inthe 1970. government apenared achieve social objectives. a aaa eemoreeic antes ‘Black peoples ambivalence abut bath cond ‘as an important dimension tothe contemporary understand of reproductive redom a meman's ight choose eontacepton nf aborton. We mur acknowledge the justice of esurng eal cca ta birth conto or por and minor women without ening the injustice of imposing birth contol ae a means of reducing their fen. [MARGARET SANGER AND THE BIRTH CONTROL MOVEMENT Inthe lot nineteenth century, many ates enacted statute probit ing contraceptives, well asthe dutbution of information about them. The Comstock Law, passed by Congces in 1875, clase in- Formation about contraceptives as obscene and made its cision throush the mails crime, Many young Americans would be shocked to discover thatthe US. Supreme Court did not rule laws prohibiting birth control even if sed by married couple, unconsitutonal nil 1968. Grid Cnnretit v4 major case not only beeate it held that Connectcut’s ban an contraceptives vielate the Consttton, bt olge because arteulatd fr the at ane the ight of privacy" (Grew scaly marked the culmination of «movement for access to birth control that began im the early ewentieth century is chet Crusader nas Margaret Sanger, ho coined the phrase "birth con trol Sanger devoted her life to championing waren’ right 0 prac tice contaception in daiace of proving la, social convertion, land the Catholic Church? Ske founded the American Birth Control League in 1921, hich nine with othe groups in 1859 to form the Dirt Conttol Federation of Arveriea CBEFA), eventually becoming “Americas leading productive right oganiason, the Planned Pa ‘nthood Federation of Ameria. Sanger i ill died by many ne route rihte activi a the masher of bith contrl and ene of [Americas most ouepoken feminists, “Sanger orca defense of bch contol war vehemently Frnt. Her advocacy centered onthe emancipation of women. She traced Fhe commitment to bsth contol to the derperate contion ofthe kh mureein New York ‘eproduction as exenfil other Freedom and equal prtsipation in Corley: Accra to brthcontal would lo allow women to rely ex fret thee sealgy without feof pregnancy. She ought to liberate ‘omens sexual pleasure fram the confines of maternity, mariage {Bed Vieforan mora. "No womao can cal ere ree who does aot ‘wn and conta her own bods: No woman ca call heel ree uti Shccan choose consciouly whether she wil will nor be a mates,” " evtuiae rne ntae Sanger declared in ber 1990 ols min ante New Rae! Sanger dosed he importance of onracepien hat women could con: {rl theme reer than thew tha depended on es cope tion, preferring diaphragms to the mors common, contraceptive tthe condone snl wither ‘Wome igh bh cont became a abject of ational sen son when Sanger war are ie fr aig federal ad ste tnticonraceptio awe Her fet sret, in 1914, ocurred when the ou Oils nme veel ee he magazine, Te Woe Re andthe U.S. Avorn’ fee charged her with silting the Con Mock Law, Facing posible fary-Gveyer sentence, Sanger fed 0 rope: She rtrd ayn ater pubis te ie of ich on. tro Under publ presne the government dropped the charges a 1916, That sme yen Sanger opened the fat contraceptive clic in the United State lated in the Brownsvle ection of Broklyn, Inher he dtited dapheagm—known a “pestares—to un rede of women, Tn day Inter, pace raided the clinic, aerentng ‘Singer and or site Eel yr, he lcs ree: Sanger wos com ‘ited of iain the New York cial ew banning deruton Conscoptves el nenteced thir dysin the worihous, ‘evel scholrs ho hve sed thw inh conrl movement in Ameri remus on lw te rgoal fei von of veletay so ‘thood was abonoveahadeed the gender nee! gel fry Sloning ted poplin contrat: Wha gan athe tr ofthe con tay ara crude woes women from te burdens ef compulsory a ‘alle chilbvarng bee by World War I mahal woud ao {al poli: The contr for women’ ight contr ther wn repo ‘clon vs persia by concera fr the ation fal ecg ad nc akeop A Angela Deis put i, "Wha sar demanded a0 “Sekt forthe prvnged came fob iterpreted sv 4 yf the "he crerof Margaret Sanger donates how bith conta ean te ued store core vgrodoctve polo swell womens eration, Ofcourse, Sanger thuld not be made shor al the blame forthe repre aspect ofthe bith conta! movement Aho is most prominent figure, she didnot singlehandedly re the poi oc the mening of bh conta” Bat ‘movement veered from irradia feminist agenda, bck conel became a tool regulate dhe poo, immigrant, sd Black Americans ‘THE EUGENICS MOVEMENT At the time Sanger began her erase for hrth contra, he ugoice ‘movement in America had embraced the theory that neligence and ‘ther personality rite are geneally determined and therefore ine herted: This beredtarian bets, coupled withthe reform sprosch of the Progressive Era, fueled « campaign to remedy America’s socal problema by stemming biological degeneracy. The suger advo- fated the rational eantrol af reproduction inorder to improve sac Tura toa dscusion of eugenice because this way of thinking helped to shape our understanding of reproduction and permestes the promotion of contemporary polices that regulate Black women’s [hldbearing: Reco ieology, ture, provided forse ol fr eugenic kre a : ‘dean be cured ty popolation contol "The eugenics toovement has been traced to the writings of Sir Francis Galton, an English scents, atthe torn ofthe centuy. A ‘hough the ide af ipoing the quality of humane ae well ax plants and animal, through rlectve breeding had previously been sg. ted, Galton was the fret to popalarice an acttal eugenics program, Galton became intrested in heredity when Tle Origin of Spriewit- ten by his dite cousin Charles Darwin, was published in 18592 Galton ceplced the Darwinian reliance onthe proces of matral =: lection t lead ineitably tothe extinction of inferior groupe wth an srgumene for affirmative sate intervention in the cour abe didnot sige the soorent frm. Won Deroy Waters talked atthe suggestion sts daring hers tele te dklveg De Pierce warned hon, “Listen here, yong ti my ‘wxmoney paying for hb ad Fined i pang legis Children you don't want thie station, hind anther doctors DD. Pereonloed one mean who sfased he procedure to be di ‘charged fom th hori ter mother intervened. Che Right ‘red patient ukimatly lf the hoyptal om er awn) De Pre sll thelocl pom that hip wan rie erfenon fer delivery ‘fe welfre mother third Bly. a means he sid wast seduce the ‘welfare rll The doctor nerned eighteen walle mothers at ‘Alken County Hsp in 1972 of hom seen ware Back, (hee bad ben pa inthe preceding eigen onthe hepa fs tang $8000 ofaxpaers soney) The Deparment of Sea Sere fexed to intervene Beal af thee women when they sous or "al Ruth Gor came pregnant 196 ge seventeen while ing in North Carolina ith her vight brothers and ers and her smother who were supported ty well, Alo. Cox reported tha shen ae tars eightemseasrworker old er thas beau of her meray” she wood havea be rized emery oe al rae oane riae a nuers enarene 83 ‘would lore sei welfare bonaite.%* The doctor toi her thatthe fect, Ul the procedure "would wesr off” Cons ther consented to her laughter sterization under a North Carlin la that allowed ser- ‘ization of mental defectives under age vengy-one if uheir parent ‘onented. Con underseat the operation, which left her perma- reaily infer, although there was no evidence that she was mentally detective “Then came the cae thi exposed he astounding extent of stern tion abuse, Forteenyesrolt Minaie Lee Relf and her twelveyear il soter Mary Alice Ralf were the youngest of sb cildren of Black Couple living Montgomery, Alama. The Rlf parents were uned- ‘ested farmhande, whe sureved afer migrating fo the city on ele payments totaling $156 a month In June 1973, nurses from the Fade Erally funded Montgomery Commonity Aesion Agency asked the elf for permission to anit the youngest Ralf sisters tow bopital for injections of the long-acting expermental contraceptive Depo Provera, Mis. Rell unable to read o writ, signed the eosent form srth an °X" Apparently elevng that their ace and poverty made Thee young ge candidates or bch contol: che nurse had boo giv lng them regular shots. But that spring Washington had ordered an th tothe hormonal injections when they weve linked eo cancer in Ithorstory animals, Intesd, the Refs later learned their daughters swore tried Ta ly 1975, the Rll earned co dhe Southern Poverty Law Con ter for hap and a classaction lawsuit as fled in federal court de- traning ben on thease of federal funds forsteriizaions: The Tewaut uncovered the shocking magnitude of sterizaton abuse fcross the South, sdge Gerhard Cesel found that estimated 100,000 to 180,000 poor women ike she all eenagers hal been ter ized annvaly der federally Fanded programs." A study discov ‘rc that nearly half ofthe women steried were Blak, lo The ‘Ego of Malis, Allan Chase poins oat tht thi ate equals that reached by the Nasi stration program the 1950s." esth care workers ‘sed 2 vary of actie to tick or presute ‘hese women ito “contenting” to the sangery- Like Nil Cox some Svomen were cosced info agresng t9 sterlization under the threat thar their wellce benefits would be withdrawn, Doctors frce et frm such ae Marites Williams and Dorothy Waters, submit othe ‘eration belore they wold deliver sei babies or perform a abor- lon The cours foi that “patent receiving Mechel assance at thildbirth are evidently the more feguent targets ofthis presure,” ‘The cate evenly lad tothe pamage federal quien governing steroid bythe governess “The caereve seria of lack welfare mothers repo pt imo effect propo of legilatrs in several sae het ba {led to become law During the 196te nate lonares comsdered 2 rash of punitive seriiration bills aimed atthe growing umber Bach eciving Aidt Femi wth Dependent Chron (AFDC). tn 1958 Representative Dud H, Glas truce il 5s the Msipph Legltre ened “An Act te Dscrarge In trai of Unmarried Females by Providing for Seilenon of the ‘Unwed Mother under Coins hin Act which provided for he Chancery cour Io order the erisatin of single mothers eet of ‘om were Black. The bill posed he Howe by a vote of 210 37, Ua wasdoppedin the Senate afer ional pretest wich ncded { pampilet exided ona ix Mp ccate Uy the Sent ‘Nonviolent Cotrnating Commitee (SNCO, “The Ili, owe, Ohio, Virgina, an Tenosee egies com sslere sar propos for te company sellanton of are Inthe who continue to have cilrn taf wear, Aough tone ofthe terization peopel as euace, Lavi snd Mics ‘ppl suceeded in ping lee aking Is cine to gee tho ‘er mom illegitimate chien, Aer surveying a umber of thee str iat ill die Pal obcred in 1968, “Te surgeon’ ‘uatn) al seme o have the sae magical quality nem ‘ome people orig Aerio are ae, nd arin tivre of human o oil inngnon (especialy poner) 0 id crersiy yar ego ‘Other women ef olor were ala striae at staring rate, For several decent genic cling the teenie Planned Parenthood Federation and the Puerto Rien govroment wih the oppor of federal funds, waged rude Yo serie Pos Rican ‘semen, Women on th land wee encouraged to npee fol op rain’ by armies of public lth wrkar wh lfc aie ‘or no cont™ Dr. Clarence Game: who tastrminied the Negro Project inthe South implemented + sini “xperinent in popu tion contain Trujilo Alto, Puerta Ric, fm 1960 1968 The ‘lta seria capaiga er no races hat hy 1968 snore than onehirdf the women oiling agen Puta Rico Indien wertize the ighex percentage nthe world ata tine ‘ima elfre Indian esrvatons daring the 190s heft re than 25 percent of Native American women infer. I far Indian Health Service hoypitaleslone, datos performed more th $000 steriiztons without adequate consent beween 1975 and 1976, For spall Indian ribo, this policy was itrally genoa, One physician reported tht “[ll dhe pared women ofthe Karte of Okla oma have now been sterilized. At the en ofthe generation the tribe willease exis” leis amazing how elective governmentt—epe ally our own—are a roaking sterlzaton and contraceptives sa blew samen of calor, despite their inability o each thee women prensa care, drug trentment and ater health erviws Ironically, while Black, Puerto Rian, and Indian women were being presrured into the operation, white mide sats women ound ‘tneary imposible to ind u doctor who wold seize them Mest hospitals falwed the 120 formal” prescribed bythe American Co lege of Obstricians and Gynecolagiat "if a womans age mailed the mumbo of children she had totaled 120, abe was 2 candidate Joe aterdiation "! Even thes, she woul noe the endorsement of to doctors aad a paychistriet Under thie formula «woman with three children would not become eligible until she reached age forts, and having no chikion would absolutely bara woman From being sensed, Doctors reluctance to steriize middlclses white women contin: ves today. Law profesor Ruth Colker tells the story of her lw schol ‘lassmate who docied tobe tried. The university physician re fused tallow her to undengo the procedure unless she agred oat tend several aeaions with a pyc, presumably eo dius fiom her destion. Profesor Clker recopnies that the “phyii’ actions reflect the dominant social message that heey (hit) ‘woman should want to beara chil.” Indeed the physician seemed fo thin hat = white woman who decides not to have chikren mst be suffering rom some mental disorder ‘The dsparate experiance of women af clor and white women led to a clash of agendas conceraing sterization. Inthe late 1970, sroup of women activist farmed the Comite to End Sterilization ‘Abuse and introduced in he New York City Counc guidelines de signe to preven coercive sterilization. Their work served 24a model For federal stviatin relorm. The guelines had two key provi sions they required informed consent inthe prefersedlnguage of che Deliont and a shity-day waking period between the sianing ofthe ‘consent form and the seriizaion procedure The group alza wanted rules o prevent he practice of btaining conten during abo, nme: “ately ater chldbindh oe an abortion, or onder the threat ating ‘velar benefit Inthe eyes of bith contol advociten seeing to make it caver for ‘white women to obtain voluntary sterieations, however these re- {quirements looked lite Frther rnadblocks in herp Re tives ofthe National Abortion Right» Acton League (NARAL) and Planned Parsnthood tetied aint the New York and oational Fuidelines" In 1970, a pro-terization coalition compere ofthe ‘Association for Voluntary Sterizaton, Zero Poplation Growth, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) launched Operion| ‘Lewit co challenge hospital’ refuel to perfor elctive wri ‘ons Within wa years, women sekingeleeive sterizaions brought fseloe Iwate agnnat hora eros che county: One plainitl was Janet Stein, twentytevenyearld mother of three howe re “guest for volute terlation wt refed by New York hospital ‘Some proteilzation organizations had thie root inthe eugenics movement The Auocaton for Voluntary Sterno, for example fan be traced back to the Sirilztion League of New Jersey Touded in the 1950s By 1950, tha become a ational organization known athe Human Beterment Auocaton. Whea it hited tz po- licl allegiance from the repaiated eugenics movement to the bor= toning birth control movement inthe 1950s i changed ite ame to “raphe its suppor for voluntary rather then compalory stern: tion. Mo of the organizations thet opposed serizsion reform ‘nad no eugene motive: they simply fled to understand the concerns the poor minority women. Focuring onthe obstacle the regulations ‘would pone to midl-clam white women, hey igacred the ravages on ‘minority women's bodies the new lw would help to prevent: They tintakenly believed that protecting women’s ight t we bith contra tnennt challenging any rations on access tm birth cootal. They strongly believed tht enycridcom of terization would give spor to the enemies of women’s reprctve choice. But there nothing «contradictory about advocating women's redom to ue birth contol ‘while opposing coceve bith conte practice The fone onthe Tevet of white prvleged women ld toa yop sion of eeprodue- Serigh In 1978 the Department of Health, Bdbcaton and Welfare awed rule reercting steriistions performed under programs receiving Federal funds, such av Medial ancl AFDC. The roles adopt thei formed consent and thiy-day waiting period requirementa advo beers " cued by the Commitee « End Sterilization Abuse. They’ lo pro= Init bysteretomies performed for steriigation purpove ae well ax the wee of federal funds to eric minors and mentally incompetent tnd insionalned pone “The federal egulatons, however have not topped the teriation abuse ln the absence of say evo rimialsanesons or monitering ‘mechaniom, che rules ae often ignored. Court cases alleging medial talpracic agsinet the physician provide for only United damages, Nor do the regulations prevent physicians and other health care ‘workers Frit urging women of color t conten to stration be cause they think shore omen have too snany children or are Inca Publ of sig other methods of bith contro A stay conducted by the ACLU shorty after the regulations went int effet discovered ‘that many hospital were bscansiy dying the Ise “Although werliaton i he leading method of birth conic nthe ‘esi expecially wienprend among Black ween fom the 1588 National Survey f Family Growth anc 1990 Telephone Reintrviows the most recent national estimates of contraceptive ue inthe United Sete, shor a dramatic racial ilfer- fatial Betven 1982 and 1990, Blk women were lee ely than ite women to use concacepion, but thove who id were signif ‘andy more likly than thir white counterparts to be steried (4 percent compared with 27 percent)" In 1990, some 24 percent of Black wowen had been striized while only 17 percent of white women had undergone the operation. The racial disparity in sei insti cuty aroeg economic and educational nes. One sey found that 7 percent af ellegeeducated Black women had been sterized compare to 86 percent of collegecdaeated white women The fre= ‘quency of merilraton increaed among poor and oneduowted Black Sromen. Among women withoot 3 high schoo! diploma, 31.6 percent (of Blick women nd 145 percent a white women had ben terized. In an eighteen year stad of low-income Black women in Baltimore wr gave birth as tonsgers, Univesity of Pennsylvania socilog Frank Furstenberg and o aher researchers discovered that 85 pot= cent hed been sterized ata relatively young age" ‘Carrent government funding policy continues to encourage seri lation of poor women, The federal goverament pa for sterieatin services unde the Medicaid program, while it doesnot make avail tbletaformation shout and acceso certain other contraceptive ech- fiques and abortion. In eee aterzation was for decade the only ably funded bith contol method readily avaiable to pooe women of col! AT discus inthe next chapter, the government hae t= ‘opty aed Norplant, = frm of temporary serizaton, ts Ae nal. The selective Eondng of bch control options takes place within a broader context of midinected government priorisee that emphasize ‘ree family planning as sulin to poverty rather than the general improvement of community health, BIRTH CONTROL AS RACIAL GENOCIDE "The debate among Blacks over biethcontel, which began in the 1870. persited over the enssng decades. Inan article appesting in 1954 inthe popular Black magazine lt, Dr Jalan Lewin former University of Chicago profesor etcized Planned Parenthood’ ‘work in the Black community and warmed that the wide-ale pact tice of birth contra! would lead to "race uicde “1 Nearly twenty sears ater ins controversial cover story in Bboy magaine ented hy Answer to Genocide," Dick Gregory advocated lage las f= lie as incurance aginst Black extermination. Gregory as epecally very af white peoples moter unerbing the romain of ay plaoning Fo yous they tld us where to sit rere to eat and where 10 lie, Now they want to dictate our bedroom habit. Firs the white man lls ne oi nthe beck ofthe bus. New ilook ike he wants met esp under the bed Back inthe day af slavery, ‘ck fk cold’ grow kd fast enough for white folks tbat west. Now tha we've gots le eante of power, hie folks want ‘eto calla moratorium on having children." Gregory’ views were not an aberration. A number of aries in och thevwhite and Black prose raked the possibility of «pot t eliminate Black though birth contra services: Two studies by Willa Darity and Castellano Turner, published in the American voural of Pac Healt in 1972 and 1975 showed a widespread worry among Blacks that faieplenning programe were a potenti means of racial geno

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