'Choice not chance': the birth control debates in New Zealand between 1935 and 1953

Abstract

This thesis examines the birth control debates in New Zealand between 1935 and 1953. It reconstructs these debates under four themes using the archives of the New Zealand Family Planning Association, the major lobbyist for publicly funded birth control provision. This study illuminates the process and structure of the birth control debates, and assesses their relationship with wider themes in New Zealand history. The New Zealand birth control campaign occurred much later than other comparable international debates. This study examines the reasons behind this. The historiography of this period has focused more closely on other issues surrounding birth control, such as marriage and family, than the debates themselves. The debates were contested in four main areas; health, population, women's sexuality and citizenship. These themes form the structure of the thesis. This thesis argues that the birth control debates of this period offer a unique understanding of the wider themes in New Zealand history. The birth control debates of the late 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s saw little change in public and government attitudes. The debates illustrated the strength of the consensus reached on the limits of citizen rights. The New Zealand Family Planning Association's concession to this consensus resulted in the establishment of a network of private birth control clinics.