Black women in double jeopardy: a perspective on birth control.

Abstract

The thesis that attitudes relating family planning to racism and genocide have historical roots in the birth control and the women's movements and that black women were the targets of racist and anti working class attitudes prevalent among the conservative forces in both movements is explored. The issue of genocide is limited to black women only, because the historical material on the genocide question and the findings of current studies on minorities are generally based on data collected from the black population. The 1st stage of the birth control movement failed to address any issues that were pertinent to black women. Early in the 20th century, with the advent of the 2nd stage of the birth control movement, a public controversy demonstrated the racist and anti working class attitudes that were dominant among feminists and advocates of birth control. The issue in question was "race suicide." Many viewpoints were advocated by those using this slogan, but the most pertinent was the fear that individuals of Yankeee stock, who had lower birth rates than other groups, would be numerically overwhelmed as a result of the fertility of immigrants, nonwhites, and the poor. The leaders of the birth control and women's movements failed to examine the facts that might have convinced them of the irrationality of their position. Overall, the beginning of this century saw birth control, a valuable tool, become a weapon with which to attack the poor and those who were nonwhite. In the 1920s the professionalization of the birth control movement finally crystallized the conservative trend, as women lost their leadership positions in the movement to men. This began the movement's 3rd stage. It set the pattern of physician-dominated clinic programs that still constitute the model for the delivery of birth control services. The stage was set for accusations concerning black genocide when the federal government's entry into the field of subsidized family planning services was tied to the coercive features of the 1967 amendments to the Social Security Act. Little empirical data exist on which segments of the black community agree with the genocide indictment. Steps social workers need to take in developing an appropriate response to clients' concerns are identified.