Transformation of the Birth Control Movement by Okinawa Midwives under U.S. Military Control : From “Reproductive Health and Rights” to “Family Planning” in Okinawa

HANDLE Web Site Web Site Open Access

Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • 米軍統治下沖縄の助産婦による避妊普及活動とその変容 : 「リプロダクティブ・ヘルス/ライツ」の萌芽から「家族計画へ」
  • ベイグン トウチカ オキナワ ノ ジョサンプ ニ ヨル ヒニン フキュウ カツドウ ト ソノ ヘンヨウ リプロダクティブ ヘルス ライツ ノ ホウガ カラ カゾク ケイカク エ

Search this article

Abstract

Abortion and contraception were illegal in post-war Okinawa under U.S.military occupation, a period when the Eugenic Protection Law was not enforced because of the strong opposition from the U.S. Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands. While illegal abortion played a significant role in the Okinawa’s fertility transition under U.S. military control, contraception came to play a greater role under the ban after the mid-1960s. This paper explores the politics behind the diffusion of contraception in Okinawa under U.S. military occupation, focusing on the birth control movement by Okinawan midwives as a dawn of the local concept of ”reproductive health and rights.” The paper mainly highlights the following three points:(1)the reality and the reasons for illegal abortions of Okinawan women, (2)the relationship between unwanted pregnancies and the U.S. military presence, and (3) the reasons and the process of the diffusion of contraception after the mid-1960s in Okinawa. I analyze the oral histories of Okinawan midwives, obstetricians, and family planners at the time, as well as archival documents, to provide a clear picture of the birth control movement by local midwives for the cause of Okinawan women’s ”reproductive health and rights,” and how this movement was transformed phase by phase into a ”family planning movement.

Journal

Related Projects

See more

Keywords

Details 詳細情報について

Report a problem

Back to top