La operacion

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Demography
• Reproductive Health

Background:

• Sterilization rates among Puerto Rican women reached 35% by 1968.
• This statistic was often misinterpreted to suggest a genocidal plot.
• Family planning through sterilization began in 1943.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide official information on sterilization rates in Puerto Rico.
• To analyze the socioeconomic composition of sterilized women.
• To address inequities in access to family planning services.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of a 1974 study on the socioeconomic composition of sterilized women.
• Review of government family planning program data.
• Examination of public opinion surveys on family planning services.

Main Results:

• In 1974, nearly 66% of sterilized women belonged to upper or upper-middle classes.
• This finding refuted the notion that only impoverished individuals were sterilized.
• Lower-income women lacked access to sterilization services despite desiring them.

Conclusions:

• The Puerto Rican Family Planning Program is voluntary and non-coercive.
• Sterilization services were made free to correct socioeconomic disparities in access.
• An overwhelming 83% of the population supported free, program-offered sterilization in 1974.