A historical analysis of U.S. imperialism on women in Puerto Rico

Abstract

This paper examines how US imperialism has historically affected the reproductive rights of women in Puerto Rico. As a commonwealth of the US, Puerto Rico has been the subject of considerable domination through programs of population control and as a testing lab for forms of birth control. I argue that the US support for the sterilization of women and the experimental testing of contraceptives during the 20th century has made a large contribution towards the consolidation of American control over the island. In other words, US imperialism required not only the physical invasion of land but also the invasion of Puerto Rican women’s bodies.