Sex And The State: Abortion, Divorce, And The Family Under Latin American Dictatorships And Democracies

CY159/Htun-FM CY159/Htun 0 52181049 3 February 6, 2003 17:2 Char Count= 0 Sex and the State Abortion, Divorce, and the Family Under Latin American Dictatorships and Democracies Abortion, divorce, and the family: How did the state make policy decisions in these areas in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile during the last third of the twentieth century? As the three countries made the transition from democratic to authoritarian forms of government (and back), they confronted challenges posed by the rise of the feminist movement, social changes, and the power of the Catholic Church. The results were often surprising: Women’s rights were expanded under military dictatorships, divorce was legalized in authoritarian Brazil but not in democratic Chile, and no Latin American country changed its laws on abortion. Sex and the State explores these patterns of gender-related policy reform and shows how they mattered for the peoples of Latin America and for a broader understanding of the logic behind the state’s role in shaping private lives and gender relations everywhere. Mala Htun is a member of the faculty of the political science department at New School University and a Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study of Harvard University. i CY159/Htun-FM CY159/Htun 0 52181049 3 February 6, 2003 ii 17:2 Char Count= 0 CY159/Htun-FM CY159/Htun 0 52181049 3 February 6, 2003 17:2 Char Count= 0 Sex and the State Abortion, Divorce, and the Family Under Latin American Dictatorships and Democracies MALA HTUN iii CY159/Htun-FM CY159/Htun 0 52181049 3 February 6, 2003 17:2 Char Count= 0 published by the press syndicate of the university of cambridge The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom cambridge university press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge cb2 2ru, uk 40 West 20th Street, New York, ny 10011-4211, usa 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, vic 3207, Australia ´ 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain Ruiz de Alarcon Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa http://www.cambridge.org  C Mala Htun 2003 This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2003 Printed in the United States of America Typeface Sabon 10/12 pt. System LATEX 2ε [tb] A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Htun, Mala, 1969– Sex and the State : abortion, divorce, and the family under Latin American dictatorships and democracies / Mala Htun. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-521-81049-3 – isbn 0-521-00879-4 (pb.) 1. Family policy – Argentina. 2. Family policy – Brazil. 3. Family policy – Chile. 4. Sex role – Argentina. 5. Sex role – Brazil. 6. Sex role – Chile. i. Title. hq590 .h78 2003 306.85 098–dc21 2002031349 isbn 0 521 81049 3 hardback isbn 0 521 00879 4 paperback iv CY159/Htun-FM