The authors analyze the tortuous course that Puerto Rico has followed in evolving a population policy, highlighting the island's rapic economic growth, its role as a laboratory for testing different methods of birth control, and the inevitable conflicts between church and state. The strands of colonialism, catholicism, and contraception are woven into a background of profound social change, characterized by shifting values, industrialization, mass emigration, and technical innovation.

Originally published 1983.

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