Women’s Agency in Finnish Population Policy 1941-1971: A Maternalist Policy

Abstract

The article discusses the agency of four influential women in conjunction with Finnish population policies represented by the Population and Family Welfare Federation in Finland (founded 1941). The policies pursued by Rakel Jalas (1892-1955), a doctor of medicine and MP for the National Coalition Party, Elsa Enäjärvi-Haavio (1901-1951), academic researcher and activist, Martta Salmela-Järvinen (1892-1987), a writer, activist and MP for the Social Democratic Party, and Leena Valvanne (1920-) a midwife and trade union activist, can be characterized as maternalist. The Finnish Abortion Law (in 1971) is interpreted as an expression of the change of the era and the emphasis of the Finnish women’s movement.