IISH

Dr. J. Rutgers

Johannes Rutgers ca. 1895 Johannes Rutgers (1850-1924) was a parson in the Dutch Reformed Church before he started training as a medical doctor after a severe religious crisis. He became a general practitioner in Rotterdam, and with his wife Wilhelmina Hoitsema (1847-1934) drifted into radical politics, mainly feminism and socialism. Rutgers was a great admirer of Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis, the anarchist leader in the Netherlands, whom he personally gave advice on the use of condoms. As a socialist, he was critical of Malthusian claims of contraception as a solution to overpopulation and poverty, but he did not reject eugenics. He became the secretary and driving power in the NMB in 1900; his wife was president. Impatient with the small number of doctors willing to support the NMB he trained nurses and midwives to supply women with pessaries. He deliberately accepted the risk that these so-called "expert collaborators" of the NMB would practice abortion, though he condemned this in public. As a result of this, the NMB lost practically all support from the medical profession for a long time.



Johannes Rutgers ca. 1875

Johannes Rutgers ca. 1875

The Rutgers family

The Rutgers family in 1898

Rutgers to Nieuwenhuis

J. Rutgers to F. Domela Nieuwenhuis

Rutgers, Rasverbetering

Title page of Rutgers's book on eugenics



M.W.H. Rutgers-Hoitsema

M.W.H. Rutgers-Hoitsema

E. Kempe, Een welgemeend woord van waarschuwing

E. Kempe vs. Mrs. Rutgers-Hoitsema

Gelukkig huisgezin

Gelukkig huisgezin first issue

Openbare zedelikheid

A lecture by Mrs Rutgers-Hoitsema



Wat is beter?

What is better?

Spreekbeurt

Rutgers offers to give lectures

Openbare vergadering

Public meeting on neo-malthusianism

Waarde Mejuffrouw

Form letter: no abortions



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