Responsible Parenthood and irresponsible fathers - The Family Planning consensus in 1960s Colombia

• In Event: Cincuenta Años de Debates en Población, Salud Sexual y Reproductiva, part 1

Abstract

From the mid to late 1960s, Colombia witnessed heated political, scientific and public debates around governmental involvement in family planning programs which aimed at enabling Colombian couples to limit their number of children. At the center of these debates stood the question of what a 'modern' Colombian family should look like, of whom it should be composed and which roles the different family members should take up. Despite their differences regarding the use of 'modern' contraceptive methods and the involvement of foreign advisers, the Liberal and Conservative Party and the Catholic Church all agreed on the need to increase the 'responsibility' of Colombian parents, especially fathers: the task at hand was to create stable and lasting marriages that would care for their children's wellbeing and education and bring them up to be responsible and productive citizens. This consensus became manifest when in 1968 congress approved a law on 'paternidad responsable', enhancing both the legal parental responsibility for the children and the states care for the off-spring of 'irresponsible' parents.

This paper analyzes the centrality of the concept of 'responsibility' in discussions around family planning in 1960s Colombia and focuses on the ways in which men and their role as fathers, husbands, and citizens were being problematized by family planning proponents and opponents alike. It will be argued that while family planning programs in Colombia were mostly addressed to women, it was men and their behavior that were considered the source of social problems emanating from unstable and unplanned families and irresponsible parenthood.

Author

• Teresa Huhle, Universität Bremen