Progresivo por Los Mujeres

January 19, 1921

Progresivo por los mujeres

Buenos Aries, Argentina

Meeting and dialogue

We all met in a Hosptial and ar eat our first meeting talking about our ideas and motivations for this feminist movment

Dr. Renaldo:

My dear friends, I am happy to be here today as we discuss the role of the woman in the pursuit of progress. I hope this discussion in this saloon can spur more conversations and from there action which will lead to social reform. Thank you for including me in this afternoon’s event; I hope the fruits of our conversation are equally beneficial for all parties here. I am very curious in learning more of your plights and hopefully finding solutions to your situations through an approach to eugenics which strengthens society by strengthening the woman and therefore the family and from there, all of society.

As a physician and scientist, I have been listening to many stimulating ideas regarding the development of the country and the progress of Argentina. We all desire a strong, healthy race which is comparable to European countries in economics, politics and education, but Argentina faces many developmental challenges. Just 4 years ago in 1917, I was in Sao Paulo visiting a mentor of mine, when 40,000 workers went on strike due to working conditions and social tensions, as we discussed with other scientists, we realized Eugenics is the key response to the social unrest as well as the recent un-rest found in women in Buenos Aires. The social tension we feel in Argentina and the discrimination you feel as women spreads across all Latin America, but we as Argentina can be on the progressive forefront with our feminist views as we lean to the science of Eugenics to cure our social ills. In fact, Renato Kehl, who was an influential part of the Sao Paulo Eugenics Society has presented the ideas that changing marriage laws could allow for a stronger race. For example, if in Brazil they are promoting con-sanguious marriages, that open the door for the change in other marriage laws and therefore hopefully in the realm of laws relating the feminism. I think we should continue studying this link between marriage and Eugenics and think about re-dressing some of the marriage laws that are rooted in the teachings of the Church rather than reason based on scientific fact. While Kehl has died and his organization has dissolved, I hope we can start up a similar organization here in Buenos Aires to continue with his ideas and progressive research. In fact, his interest in the need for mental hygiene could help your case as women. We must clean the minds in the pursuit of mental hygiene so as to help women and all of societies become a cleaner, more psychologically sound and modern race. In Mexico currently, the Mexican Congress of the Child is discussing eugenic and sexual issues; I see no reason we as Argentina cannot be on the cutting edge of this discussion. The Argentine Eugenics Society has been around since 1918 thanks to Delphino, but it is time to rally together as women and include the feminist voice in this discussion of progress and eugenics. Now, I would like to hear from Maria, a patient whom I met in a crowded hospital, who though a humble member of the working class, may have some useful insights into the plight of the woman.

Maria:

My name is Maria. I am 25 years old and I live with my husband in Buenos Aires. We have little to no money and live day by day. About 11 months ago, we found out that we were pregnant with our first child. Even though economically we were not ready to necessarily have a child we were very excited for the new life we were bringing to the world. When the time finally came for our baby to be born we went to the hospital since we are unable to afford a midwife we must go to the doctors at the hospital. I was not naïve to realize that the conditions in which my baby was being born were extremely poor and probably very dangerous but I had no other choice. We didn’t really even have proper checkups throughout the pregnancy. Everything was very rushed and I later found out the doctors that were taking care of myself didn’t even sanitize their hands after dealing with the patients before me. After about 5 hours of hard labor my baby girl was finally born. She was so beautiful and everything I had dreamed about since I had learned that I was pregnant. About an hour later she started having breathing problems that only one nurse realized. She didn’t even go get the doctor until it was too late and about a half hour after noticing the problems my baby girl died. I am not oblivious to the fact that this could have happened in any situation and there was a chance that my baby was destined not to live more than the short time she did but I cannot live with myself if I don’t think about the conditions in which she was born and the people that were taking care of her and if the poor care that it was done in had anything to do with her death. I am here today because I met Dr. Renaldo a short time after my baby’s death and he noticed my look of distraught and heartache and after I told him the story he suggested the idea that it may have been the poor care that lead to my baby’s short time on earth. He suggested I come to this meeting to share my story and offer it as a help to get better maternity care in hospitals for women in my economic state. Me and my husband have discussed possibly having another child, however, I will not take the risk again if the conditions do not improve and I don’t have to watch another child die in my arms.

Dr. Renaldo:

Thank you Maria, for sharing your heart-wrenching testimony. Once again, I would like to point out that her plight is shared by many woman of Buenos Aires, regardless of class. You women with influential husbands and a comfortable lifestyle also know all too well of the poor hospital conditions and the struggles with responding the new idea of the germ theory. In response to Maria, I propose that doctors should be obligated to care for all women equally regardless of social class, because those who are bringing children into society must bear healthy children for the sake of Argentineans as a whole. All hospitals should be held to standards of santitation and cleanliness regardless of a person’s gender of class. Public health ought to mandate sterilization as well as treatment of all patients, including women, especially those pregnant and with young children. I would know like the shift gears and bring up another medical and public health issue: the problem of venereal disease due to prostitution. Please welcome Juanita.

Juanita:

Friends, today is a great day for me. I have been very eager for a long time to become more advanced in society. I have a lot of goals and ambitions in my life, and right now it is very hard for me to even think about advancing in my life with the way things are now. It is rough for a low class woman at this time. I have very few freedoms, or choices to make on my own. Because of my limited opportunities for women at this time, I am forced to engage in prostitution to provide for myself. Women are very limited and since I do not have a husband, or any other family near me, the only option I have is prostitution. Health care for me is extremely limited. I do not have the opportunities or the funds to educate myself about protection. I have been exposed to several diseases and have no way of getting treated for them. Prostitution is so common, that when men go from woman to woman, diseases are transferred very easily. I am very concerned about this and I would like to have the chance to be heard to society. I feel like the people of Argentina need to be informed about this injustice and progress should be made to change it. Progress for women in other countries is occurring. In the United States, women now have the right to vote! It makes me sad that women are making such big strides in other places, but here in Buenos Aries nothing is really changing.

Dr. Renaldo:

You are right! In the United States, Women have the right to vote. While I am not pushing for such an extreme political change, I am in favor of social change rooted in social values. Thank you, Juanita, for sharing your experiences with us. As you can see, we are in need of a shift in our attitudes towards women. Venereal disease is one problem with stems from the moral ill of prostitution; we as a society ought to do what we can to rid ourselves of this moral and physical evil. I, as a man, will do what I can to promote public health, mental hygiene and support the woman and the family so that we as a progressive city can have a better future where our children, unlike Maria’s child can firstly live, but also, unlike Juanita, thrive as healthy, happy contributors to a progressive society.