Reproductive Rights and Wrongs: The Global Politics of Population Control

by Betsy Hartmann

With a new prologue by the author, this feminist classic is an important gateway into the controversial topic of population for students, activists, researchers and policymakers. It challenges the myth of overpopulation, uncovering the deeper roots of poverty, environmental degradation and gender inequalities. With vivid case studies, it explores how population control programs came to be promoted by powerful governments, foundations and international agencies as an instrument of Cold War development and security policy. Mainly targeting poor women, these programs were designed to drive down birth rates as rapidly and cheaply as possible, with coercion often a matter of course. In the war on population growth, birth control was deployed as a weapon, rather than as a tool of reproductive choice.

Threaded throughout Reproductive Rights and Wrongs is the story of how international women’s health activists fought to reform population control and promote a new agenda of sexual and reproductive health and rights for all people. While their efforts bore fruit, many obstacles remain. On one side is the anti-choice movement that wants to deny women access not only to abortion, but to most methods of contraception. On the other is a resurgent, well-funded population control lobby that often obscures its motives with the language of women’s empowerment. Despite declining birth rates worldwide – average global family size is now 2.5 children – overpopulation alarm is on the rise, tied now to the threats of climate change and terrorism. Reproductive Rights and Wrongs helps readers understand how these contemporary developments are rooted in the longer history and politics of population control. In the pages of this book a new generation of readers will find knowledge, argumentation and inspiration that will help in ongoing struggles to achieve reproductive rights and social, environmental and gender justice.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, Politics, History, Race, Academic, Society

488 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Author, educator, and activist Betsy Hartmann addresses critical national and global challenges in both her fiction and nonfiction writing. Her recently released novel, Last Place Called Home, is a political thriller about the opioid crisis and war on drugs in a small Massachusetts mill town. It is a finalist in the 2024 International Book Awards mystery/suspense category and a finalist in the 2024 American Fiction Awards political thriller category. Readers' Favorite calls it a "beautiful literary creation with a setting that feels like a a character in its own right."

Betsy is also the author of the feminist classic Reproductive Rights and Wrongs: The Global Politics of Population Control and of The America Syndrome: Apocalypse, War and Our Call to Greatness. She is the co-author of A Quiet Violence: View from a Bangladesh Village. Eerily prescient, her previous political thrillers, The Truth about Fire and Deadly Election, explore the threat the Far Right poses to American democracy.

Betsy did her undergraduate degree at Yale University and her PhD at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is professor emerita of Development Studies at Hampshire College, where she taught for twenty-eight years. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Harjanti Kertokarijo · Rating 4 out of 5]

100% recommend this book to anyone interested in/working on sexual and reproductive health and rights. While the chapters on specific contraceptives are a bit outdated, the book offers invaluable background to the Malthusian population control idea that shaped the “family planning” sector and the influence it had on e.g. ICPD.

Leaves you with the crucial question on how organisations who were deeply implicated in the racism and violence of population control - and now often co-opt feminist language and movements! - such as UNFPA, IPPF and Population Council can and should be held accountable for their past..

[Joe Zivak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skvely uvod do problematiky

[Sarita Upadhyay · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Content: 4.5 stars
Accessibility: 2 stars
Really good ideas, some challenges in structure and writing style

[Ryleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enlightening, this book really recontextualized my thoughts on reproductive rights, especially as they pertain to poor women and women of color.

[Zahida Zahoor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A most read if you are interested in population growth, even though it was first published in 1995 it provides a really good history and background on the policies that have been and still being implemented in a number of countries.

The stark truth is these policies have been targeted at mainly poor women in third world countries. These women have unjustly been forced to reduce their size of their family, without any really compensation by the government on how they will survive (in some countries children are need to work on the farm, produce income or look after elderly relatives) or any long term follow up on their health. Usual methods of birth control have focused on sterilisation or long term hormone/coil use.

The data actually suggests that forcing a reduction in population has little or no affect on the environment, carbon dioxide levels or the economy. Large cooperation’s are more notorious at polluting and emitting carbon emissions than large rural families.

What we actually should be doing is: focusing on women’s right, increasing education, giving more responsibility to men to help limit family size, provide a range of contraceptive methods and follow up health assessments, researching more on barrier methods and providing basic healthcare. So the answer to population growth is not straight forward or about using one method. We need to care about the dignity and freedom of all humans regardless where they live in the world and whatever their income and stop being fixated on human population numbers.

[Sam Whitehill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hartman explores how international organizations push IUDs, implants, and sterilizations on poor women in the name of population control. This often happens in lieu of funding safer alternatives like barrier methods and neglects comprehensive healthcare funding. Hartman argues that families need all of these options at their disposal, with legal abortion as a backstop. The population bomb myth supports draconian methods to reduce birth rates at all costs, but Hartman shows that social justice and reproductive choice is the true road to sustainability.

[Emily Rice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really really good. I thought I understood and agreed with the premise before I started reading, and I did, but the author really challenges every single assumption that We have about population and capitalism and reproductive justice and really helped me interrogate beliefs that I didn’t even realize I had. Really important stuff for those of us who care about reproductive rights/etc!!

[Hayley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of mixed feelings on this one. On one hand, it’s a great overview of the creation of the overpopulation myth and the ongoing history of population control campaigns and how they have been intentionally intertwined with reproductive rights in order to further fundamentally racist and eugenicist arguments. I entirely agree with the author that this is incredibly important for reproductive health, rights, and justice advocates to know (particularly the ways it has been weaponized against Black and brown women), and nothing about raising awareness of that history aids the anti-abortion movement.

HOWEVER, I think this particular edition is somewhat dangerous in that some text has been updated but NOT the information about the safety of contraception and abortion, which is now outdated to the point of being misinformation. Most of the text in this edition is the original 1995 text, and science has come a long way since. To reprint it in 2016 with a modern cover and constant references to “today” and “currently” with few actual dates, but not update any of this medical misinformation that we now know is conclusively false feels really irresponsible. Otherwise I love Haymarket Books, but I think this was a significant mistake that DOES aid the anti-abortion movement, which very frequently pushes these same myths about hormonal contraception and abortion being “unsafe” or having “significant health risks” when we know this isn’t true.

[JoAnna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Three-line review: This dense book is a deep dive into the political, social, and historical underpinnings at the intersection of population control, reproductive rights, public health, women's rights and autonomy, government policy, and power. To say the challenges related to these topics are complex, systemic, oppressive, and misunderstood is an understatement. While this book helped me unlearn and reassess some of my previously held beliefs related to population control and healthcare, it was far to academic and dry to be accessible.

[Lillian Mountweazel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic, incisive analysis of the history and modern contexts with reproductive rights & justice. Gives a thorough background on prevailing populist narratives underpinning these, ie. The myth of "overpopulation". Excellent read. Pulled together a lot of the pieces I was aware of but had not encountered in such a cohesive and cogent manner with such breadth of evidence. The register is formal and academic but is not totally inaccessible to readers who may not have a background in gender theory / sociology but have a grasp on the main concepts.

[Stella Bixler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting and important! Betsy really revealed how fucked up and racist population control ideology is in 1995 what a queen. She did an excellent job deconstructing the viewpoints we have as privileged white ppl in America. I loved her main arguments abt how improving welfare and generally women’s quality of life and opportunities will take care of the overpopulation problem.” She supported this super well w cool case studies. I learned a lot from and I’m only taking off a star cuz I got tired of reading abt contraceptives in the middle there.

[Cam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good and important book, I just wish it were updated. The 3rd edition is from 2016 and I think it’s about time for a new one, especially since even the 2016 one felt very outdated considering some of the newer contraceptive options available at the time. The thesis is still spot-on though, and so much of what is described in these pages continues to be (sadly) relevant. Pretty hefty though (I think there are more accessible books that are better for people who were not prompted to read this for an academic book club, like I was 😄)

[Lucia Abarno]

yes

[Andrea Mastromatteo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required Reading for any and all advocates of body sovereignty.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

most important book I read all year

[Rob Prince · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my colleague-friends (the combination is rare) once said to me concerning a book `use it as a text? i might even read it!' i do use this one as a text and have read it but am re-reading it. pretty good book on the politics of birth control, today often mechanically and cruelly linked to economic trends - gnp - in poor countries. very decent and interesting analysis of these movements.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm trying this one again.... I'll let you know!

[Quin Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely essential reading for any/all feminists and feminist scholars. Perhaps the definitive text on the ideology and consequences of "population control." Thoroughly debunks the myth that their are too many humans; the real issue, as Hartmann demonstrates through careful argumentation and extensive research, is global inequality. There is enough for all, human and non-human, if it were distributed equally and justly.

Excellent counterpoint to recent debates in feminist and queer theory over "anti-futurity" (e.g. Haraway's "Staying with The Trouble).