Introduction According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, at least 37% of pregnancies in every U.S. state are unintended, and twenty-three percent of pregnancies end in abortions (Kost K). These stats have sparked another debate that’s pushing to gain a bill that requires insurance companies to fund birth control and other contraceptive services. In reality, the birth control movement has been and will always be a controversial topic beginning with Margaret Sanger’s fight for women’s rights. This debatable issue is a result of social values and religious beliefs conflicting with different views amongst pro-life and pro-choice supporters. If this was to be funded, it would help to get rid of the need of a co-payment or and any type of fee for the pills and any other services that could help out women and teenagers alike. There are many arguments that are against the use of birth control. The Roman Catholic Church religious officials are against it just as well as conservatives, and those others who believe that birth control encourages promiscuity in females. Birth control is one of the most popular known methods of family planning and in some cases it can go beyond that. Birth Control, other contraceptive methods and all known services should be free to women and teenagers to help them prevent unwanted pregnancies, improve women’s success rates, and help prevent common sexual diseases among them. Birth Control History In the earliest times of the birth control movement, this and other contraceptive methods were illegal in the United States. The legalization was advocated for many reasons. “Population control, heredity disease prevention, hereditary stock improvement, liberation from reproductive drudgery, and sometimes in the... ... middle of paper ... ...2/conservatives-step-up-attacks-on-public-funding-for-birth-control Thompson, Kirsten. "Birth Control." - A Brief History of Birth Control. Feb. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book/companion.asp?id=18&compID=53 Wardell, Dorothy. "Margaret Sanger: Birth Control's Successful Revolutionary." American Journal Of Public Health 70.7 (1980): 736. Business Source Complete. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. Wilson, Nate. "The Case Against Birth Control." The Case Against Birth Control. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. http://www.natewilsonfamily.net/brthcntl.htm Wind, Rebecca. "U.S. ABORTION RATE HITS LOWEST LEVEL SINCE 1973." U.S. Abortion Rate Hits Lowest Level Since 1973. N.p., 03 Feb. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. http://www.guttmacher.org/media/nr/2014/02/03/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Guttmacher+(New+from+the+Guttmacher+Institute)
Dorothy Wardell’s article titled “Margaret Sanger: Birth Control’s Successful Revolutionary” explains what inspired Sanger ideas on contraception and what problems she faced while working to change the notions and laws on Birth Control. The central argument presented by Wardell is that Sanger’s efforts led to privileges for women’s bodies and health centers providing methods for women to act on these privileges (Wardell, 736). Although Wardell is effective in supporting her argument, it would be stronger if she included some historical context and evidence of Sanger’s opinion in her own words found in a speech of hers and in Family Limitation. Wardell begins by addressing that “…a definitive biography and assessment has yet to be written.”,
Although birth control and other forms of contraceptives did not fully become legal until the 1960’s they had been developed nearly seventy years earlier in the forms the are still prevalent today (Birth Control in America). The modern condom, or “...rubber was invented in 1870, but [it] was not the thin latex type…” that is currently prevalent in our society (Hoag Levins 2). An early form of the birth control pill, which Margaret Sanger advocated, was also in existence in the very late 1800’s (Birth Control in America). Contraception was considered an ethical issue, in that the majority of Americans believed it was a form of abortion and therefor it was considered amoral (Birth Control in America). The laws of Sanger's day “...forced women into celibacy on one hand, or abortion on the other" (Sanger B 3). Why did it take so long to spread and legalize something with the potential to better the lives and life styles of women and families in the early 1900’s? It could be partially attributed to the attitude of politicians of the time. President Theodore Roosevelt said "...that the American people would be committing racial suicide"(Birth Control in America). Roosevelt shared a belief, held by the majority of politicians at the time, that families of America should act, as Roosevelt put it "servants of the state; and should provide Children to build national st...
Since 1912 Sanger had dreamed of a pill that would provide cheap, safe, and effective contraception. In 1951 Margaret Sanger met Dr. Gregory Pincus, a biologist whose expertise was in the field of fertility. Planned Parenthood Federation of America provided a grant to research the effect of progesterone on ovulation. Dr. Pincus’ research supported earlier findings that progesterone acts as an inhibitor to ovulation. With these findings, Margaret Sanger was able to convince Katherine McCormick, a wealthy heiress, to provide the funding for Dr. Gregory Pincus to develop the first birth control
Subsequently, the provided documents on the birth control movement did show the push and pull factors of the complicated and multifaceted debate. Americas push towards industrial growth, and technology demanded that the subsequent progressive reforms were needed for a society ushering in a new era. At the same time, fear and reluctance to abandon tradition and religious custom acted as the pulling factor. The birth control debate was a complicated and heavily charged debate teemed in religious, social, political, and racial rhetoric. Historical documents help shed new light on the things taken for granted today, even the most seemingly innocuous things like birth control were fought for, so that men and women today could be in charge of their own destinies.
Birth control pills gave women the right to be in charge of their own conception or lack thereof.
Until the mid 1800s, abortion was unrestricted and unregulated in the United States. The justifications for criminalizing it varied from state to state. One big reason was population control, which addressed fears that the population would be dominated by the children of newly ...
Birth Control has always been a topic of controversy in America, generating large opposition and actions to regulate it. The regulation of any form of birth control was made final with the Comstock Act being passed in 1873 that was a, “federal law that made it a crime to sell or distribute materials that could be used for contraception or abortion”. This act created by and enacted by Anthony Comstock, caused a long and troubling path for feminists attempting to break the patriarchal society and gain the freedom to control their own bodies and choices. The virdict was supported throughout the years and by the 1950s many opinions of religious people, political persons, and most men who accepted traditional gender roles continued on the path of
Freely accessible birth control for teenagers has always been a topic of debate, but it prevents pregnancy, abortion, and it also has many health benefits. There are cons to the argument that suggests a rise in promiscuity in the adolescent demographic, but in spite of these cons the rise of birth control continues, because access to birth control helps adolescents make an informed and safe decision on whether or not to participate in sexual activities. It doesn’t make the decision for them.
Although birth control has been practiced since ancient times, the first organized efforts developed during the 19th century as population increased dramatically because of improved medical care, nutrition, and sanitation. However, birth control met with resistance. In 1873 the United States Congress enacted the Comstock Law, which prohibited the distribution of birth-control devices and information.
The practice of abortion should be banned in society because it terminates the life of an innocent unborn child, causes long-term emotional effects, as well as major health risks for women who opt for abortion. The debate on abortion continues to be a controversial problem in society and has been around for many decades. According to John Lewis, “In the United States, abortion laws began to appear in the 1820’s, forbidding abortion after the fourth month of pregnancy” (1). This indicates that the abortion controversy has been debated far back in American history. Beginning in the 1900’s, legalized abortion became a major controversy.
In the second decade of the twentieth century, the U.S. birth control movement became an important topic among Americans. It was at this time that Margaret Sanger, the eventual founder of Planned Parenthood, became involved in the radical movement for voluntary motherhood and the distribution of contraceptives (Hartmann). As a nurse she assisted poor women in giving birth, and saw the effect of having too many children on the welfare of these women. She also saw the suffering, pain, and death of many women who obtained unsafe, backdoor abortions to escape having more children (Shaw, Lee).
Sanger, Margaret. "The Morality of Birth Control." Gifts of Speech. Smith College, 2012. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
With so many women choosing to have abortions, it would be expected that it would not be so greatly frowned up, yet society is still having problems with its acceptance. Every woman has the fundamental right to decide for herself, free from government interference, whether or not to have an abortion. Today, more than ever, American families do not want the government to trample on their right to privacy by mandating how they must decide on the most intimate, personal matters. That is why, even though Americans may differ on what circumstances for terminating a crisis pregnancy are consistent with their own personal moral views, on the fundamental question of who should make this personal decision, the majority of Americans agree that each woman must have the right to make this private choice for herself. Anti-choice proposals to ban abortions for “sex-selection” or “birth-control” are smokescreens designed to shift the focus of the debate away from this issue and trivialize the seriousness with which millions of women make this highly personal decision. Any government restriction on the reasons for which women may obtain legal abortions violates the core of this right and could force all women to publicly justify their reasons for seeking abortion.
"People and Events: The Pill and the Sexual Revolution." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.
When one contemplates the concept of eugenics, few think of modern contraception and abortion when in reality they are one in the same. The American Eugenics Society, founded in 1923, proudly proclaimed that men with incurable “conditions” should be sterilized. However these conditions were often none that could be helped, such as, one’s intelligence, race, and social class (Schweikart and Allen 529-532). The purpose of the society was to create the perfect class of men; elite in all ways. Likewise, Margaret Sanger’s feminist, contraceptive movement was not originally founded with this purpose. It was marketed as a way to control the population and be merciful to those yet to be born, again determined also by race and intelligence. The similarities in purpose actually brought the two organizations together to form a “liberating movement” to “aid women” known today as Planned Parenthood (Schweikart and Allen 529-532). The name may sound harmless, but the movement hid a darker purpose, to wean out the lower and less educated in order to create a perfect class.