The fight for family planning in Spain during late Francoism and the transition to democracy, 1965-1979

Abstract

This paper examines the funding and early development (1965-1979) of the Spanish family planning movement. This movement was composed of two branches: one medical, the other feminist. In spite of their different roots, the two branches had complementary interests, and during the years 1976-1979 they cooperated in the dissemination of contraception and sexual education, the establishment and consolidation of private and public family planning centers and the promotion of a new, more egalitarian (woman) patient-doctor relationship. The movement’s final achievement was the legalization of the sale and advertisement of contraception in 1978, followed by the incorporation of family planning in the Spanish public health care system. This research is based on oral history interviews with feminist activists and doctors involved in the movement, print media from the period, and archival material.