Geburten/Kontrolle

The volume aims at a comprehensive historical reconstruction of policies, conflicts, attitudes, and regulations covering the diverse field of human reproduction. The analysis is based on two case studies: the United States of America and Austria. While both countries are part of the geographic and conceptual region called the "north-Atlantic world", they occupy significantly different positions within the global power structure, the respective relations between state, religion and society, the nature of their political cultures, etc. While it is impossible to re-construct a universal history of population policies on the basis of the two case studies, in the concluding chapter more universal premises relating to 20th century trends and developments beyond the case studies are suggested. To enable a comprehensive, yet focused comparison the analysis concentrates on three aspects of reproductive policies: sexual advice centers in the cities of New York and Vienna during the interwar period; 20th century policies aimed at the interface between workplace and child care; and the abortion conflicts taking place in the last third of the 20th century. These fields are conceptualized as "ar