145769 Why the History of Reproductive Politics Matterns to Public Health

Monday, November 5, 2007: 10:35 AM

Alexandra Stern, PhD , Center for the History of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Stern will present a brief introduction of the panel as relates to a bigger collaborative project involving historians, physicians, bioethicists, museum designers, archivists, and activists, using the 100th anniversary of Indiana's eugenic sterilization law (1907 -- the first in the country) as a springbroad to explore key issues in reproductive control, race, gender, class, choice, and coercion.

Learning Objectives:
The purpose is to provide historical analysis to remind of us past abuses and inform current work about reproductive rights. Organized by Alexandra M. Stern (who has previously presented on this topic in the Spirit of 1848 history session), the session will be introduced by Anne-Emanuelle Birn, from the Spirit of 1848 social history subcommittee, and will include presentations by: (1) Dr. Gregory Dorr, on Poor Women, Poor Choices: The Dilemma of Civil Rights and Reproductive Health in the 1970s (focusing on the 1973 Relf case, about the wrongful sterilization of two African American teenagers in Alabama), (2) Dr. Paul Lombardo, on Looking Back at Buck v. Bell (the 1927 Supreme Court decision that allowed states to perform mandatory sexual sterilization of persons who were mentally retarded, epileptic, or otherwise judged ?socially inadequate, and (3) Dr. Elena Gutierrez, who as discussant will reflect on both the presented papers and the more recent US histories of policing reproduction, especially among women of color. Two Spirit of 1848 members, Emily Galpern and Birgit Remier, will work together with Alexandra Stern and the panelists to create a resource guide (listing books, articles, and websites) for current organizing around reproductive rights.

Keywords: Reproductive Health, Women's Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Policing Reproduction: Lessons and Legacies of Eugenic Sterilization
See more of: Spirit of 1848 Caucus