Joseph S. Belaval Explained

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]}

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.^{[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.

Notes and References

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