Joseph "Jose" S. Belaval (1879–1953) was a Puerto Rican obstetrician, who was an influential advocate for birth control and sterilization programs for impoverished women in Puerto Rico.[1] Belaval served on the Board of Health of Puerto Rico from 1917 to 1938, becoming the board president in 1920.[2] In 1934, Belaval was appointed director of the first birth control clinic in Puerto Rico.[3][4][5]

Joseph S. Belaval
Born1879
Died1953 (aged 73–74)
NationalityPuerto Rican
Known forInfluential advocate for birth control and sterilization programs for impoverished women in Puerto Rico
Medical career
FieldObstetrics
InstitutionsBoard of Health of Puerto Rico

He was appointed to the Board of Health[6] following his published writings advocating birth control in the early 1900s.[7][8] Belaval's writings were considered controversial because they were aimed at limiting the poor population in Puerto Rico, and because Puerto Rico's predominantly Catholic population opposed any type of birth control.[7][9][10][11]

A not-for-profit community hospital in Santurce, Puerto Rico bears his name.[12]

His son, Edgar Belaval, was Attorney General of Puerto Rico.

References

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  1. ^ Briggs, Laura (December 2002). Reproducing empire: race, sex, science, and U.S. imperialism in Puerto Rico. University of California Press. p. 154. ISBN 0-520-23258-5.
  2. ^ Governor, Puerto Rico (1922). Report of the Governor of Porto Rico. p. 82. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  3. ^ Williams, Doone; Greer Williams (1978). Every Child a Wanted Child: Clarence James Gamble M.D. and his work in the Birth Control Movement. Boston: Harvard University Press. p. 159. ISBN 978-0-674-27025-1.
  4. ^ Salvo, Joseph F., Mary G. Powers, and Rosemary Santana Cooney (September–October 1992). "Contraceptive Use and Sterilization Among Puerto Rican Women". Family Planning Perspectives. 24 (5): 219–223. doi:10.2307/2135873. JSTOR 2135873. PMID 1426184.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ López, Iris Ofelia (2008). Matters of choice: Puerto Rican women's struggle for reproductive freedom. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press. pp. 13–17. ISBN 978-0-8135-4373-4. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  6. ^ "State and Insular Health Authorities, 1919". Public Health Reports. 34 (30): 1638. 25 July 1919. PMC 1996927. PMID 19314679.
  7. ^ a b Briggs, Laura (2002). Reproducing Empire: Race, Sex, Science, and U.S. Imperialism in Puerto Rico. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-23258-7.
  8. ^ Ramírez de Arellano; Annette B.; Conrad Seipp (1983). Colonialism, Catholicism, and Contraception: A History of Birth Control in Puerto Rico. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-9757-7.
  9. ^ Stycos, J. Mayone; Reuben Hill (January 1953). "The Prospects of Birth Control in Puerto Rico". Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 285: 137–144. doi:10.1177/000271625328500121. S2CID 145065473.
  10. ^ Tietze, Christopher (July 1947). "Human Fertility in Puerto Rico". The American Journal of Sociology. 53 (1): 34–40. doi:10.1086/220090. PMID 20253590. S2CID 144169802.
  11. ^ Briggs, Laura. "Discourses of "Forced Sterilization" in Puerto Rico: The Problem with the Speaking Subaltern" (PDF). Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  12. ^ "Centro De Salud Comunal Dr Jose S Belaval, Inc". AllBusiness. Retrieved 14 May 2010.