The Medical and Legal Approach on Separation and Divorce in Argentina (1930-1955)

Abstract

In this paper we will analyze the way marriage and divorce were addressed by those in the medical profession both in academic journals and magazines, and how these representations emerged in divorce lawsuits between March 8th 1954 and December 31st 1955 in the city of La Plata in Argentina. During those nineteen years through the Act 14.934 (section 31) those separated spouses had the possibility to obtain the divorce decree, and this enabled them to legalize their marriages by habit and repute, and to legitimize the children born from these couples. The divorce decree also enabled these people to enter  into civil marriages again, that is to remarry. The corpus of this paper has been obtained from legal archives and medical journals that addressed divorce issues which ranged from the 30s to the 50s.