| Abstract: | While the Nationalist Party, in power in South Africa since 1948, has been committed to limiting black population growth, shifts in policy have occurred, particularly in the intensity of government efforts to curb black growth. It was only in 1974 that Pretoria announced an official 'family planning' policy and allocated sufficient finance to carry it out. The present paper explores the nature of these policy shifts and their cause, placing the birth control program in the context of South Africa's evolving political economy. |