Without denying the partial success of socialist Yugoslavia’s policy in the field of family planning, Ivana Dobrivojević Tomic’s book shows that both the interwar and post-war states faced the same problems and challenges. Although the socio-economic situation in the country changed, the standard of living rose, and contraceptives became more and more accessible, for most couples throughout the 20th century, abortion, first illegal and then legal, remained one of the basic “methods” of family planning. Socialist authorities, faced with accumulated health and social problems, opted for the gradual liberalization of abortion. Socialist authorities, faced with accumulated health and social problems, opted for the gradual liberalization of abortion. However, the legislature’s initial intent was not emancipatory nor was it to give women the right to freely dispose of their bodies, but was a way to remedy the health and economic consequences of a large number of illegal abortions.

Participants:

• Ivana Dobrivojević Tomić, Institute for Contemporary History
• Sanja Petrović Todosijević, Institute for Recent History of Serbia
• Ljiljana Pantović, IFDT
• Jelena Ćeriman, IFDT

Moderator: Milica Sekulović, IFDT

Ivana Dobrivojević Tomić is a senior fellow at the Institute for Contemporary History in Belgrade. He is engaged in research of state repression in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, industrialization of socialist Yugoslavia, living standards of ordinary people, migration of village-city, youth life in socialist Yugoslavia and family planning.

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