The establishment of voluntary family planning clinics in Liverpool and Bradford, 1926-1960: A comparative study

This article adds a comparative perspective to a growing body of research exploring the establishment and provision of local birth control clinics in the UK before and after 1945. The cities of Liverpool and Bradford represent two extremes of birth control clinic development in the twentieth century. In Liverpool, a voluntary Mother's Welfare Clinic opened in 1926 and had three branch clinics in the city by 1960. Bradford did not obtain its first voluntary birth control clinic until 1960. To explain this differential in clinic development, the article draws on the role played by individuals, voluntary, medical and municipal authorities, religious opposition, patient demand, as well as population and immigration debates. © 2011 The Author.