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History of contraception essay
Birth control movement 1960s
The legalization of birth control
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Many women today can choose and control how many children they want. It was not like that many years ago, most women spent most of their lives having children and caring for them. We must thank Margaret Sanders for this shift in history. She was one of the first people that fought for the use and availability of birth control and contraceptives for women. She founded the birth control movement in the early 1900s and opened the very first ever birth control clinic in 1916. Margaret was a nurse and that is when her passion for the right for women to control their pregnancies grew. Her effort has resulted to the legalization and acceptance of contraceptives. During her job as a nurse, Sanger met a lot of women who had experienced successive
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.”,
With the clash of the cultures increasingly challenging our way of living, we must fight even harder to keep our families practicing good morality and traditional values. The census of the 20s shows us that more and more Americans are making the move to the big city and for reasons I don’t quite understand. There are many that embrace the new modern world, but my family members are plain old country folk that enjoy rural living, living on farms or in small towns. And marriage should be considered sacred and children should be considered a blessing from God, not a burden or imposition. In the essay entitled “Birth Control,” by Ella K. Dearborn, written for the Birth Control Review in March 1928, Dearborn opposed certain women having children
Margaret Sanger was, at large, a birth control activist, but this speech was more about the questioning of birth control corrupting morality in women. People must remember, in the day and age where Sanger presented this speech, November 1921, women were considered very far from equal and much closer to servants or maids. In her speech, I saw that ethos was present in the sense that she gave herself credibility. Through Sanger’s detailed words and actions, and her statements including the presence of scientists and, or, professionals, the masses of listening people could infer that she was very well informed and solid in her statements. Though she presented herself as agreeable, Sanger was firm in her beliefs. In addition, Sanger says, “We desire to stop at its source the disease, poverty and feeble-mindedness and insanity which exist today, for these lower the standards of civilization and make for race deterioration. We know that the masses of people are growing wiser and are using their own minds to decide their individual conduct” (Sanger, par.15). To me, Sanger made herself appeal to the audience by using the word ‘we.’ In the practice of ethos, this focused on the author more than...
"A free race cannot be born" and no woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body. No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother"(Sanger A 35). Margaret Sanger (1870-1966)said this in one of her many controversial papers. The name of Margaret Sanger and the issue of birth control have virtually become synonymous. Birth control and the work of Sanger have done a great deal to change the role of woman in society, relationships between men and woman, and the family. The development and spread of knowledge of birth control gave women sexual freedom for the first time, gave them an individual identity in society and a chance to work without fearing they were contributing to the moral decline of society by leaving children at home. If birth control and Sanger did so much good to change the role of women in society why was birth control so controversial?
Margaret Sanger was the founder of The American League of Birth Control which later became Planned Parenthood and her argument in those times was that it was not fair for women who were from a lower class could not have access to Birth Control.
In today’s practice there are several options to consider for contraception. Multiple different birth control pills, intrauterine devices, vaginal rings, implants, and injections are viable options. The development of the first oral contraceptive A male non-hormonal contraceptive polymer is in the process of gaining approval which will empower men to have equal say and responsibility in preventing pregnancies outside of the use of prophylactics. The impact of Margaret Sanger’s activism is reflected outside of birth control measures in today’s medical practice. Sexually transmitted diseases and infections have been a serious problem for a significant amount of time. However, the efforts of Margaret Sanger along with others has impacted how society approaches sexual education and testing. Programs such as Planned Parenthood and the general acceptance of birth control measures have changed the nursing process greatly and in general, the way we live
Margaret Sanger, the pioneer of the movement for birth control, came from a family that would have been viewed by Galton to be unsuitable for reproduction according to eugenics. She was the sixth of eleven children born into her poor Irish family. She felt that women's reproductive freedom was essential. She coined the term voluntary motherhood and opened the first birth control clinic in the country in Brooklyn in 1916. Like many others who supported the birth control movement, she also supported the idea of eugenics trusting that the "human race could be improved through 'controlled breeding'." Sanger felt that all the problems of society were centered around uncontrolled breeding. She decided that women had the right to know about methods of contraception and about the workings of their own bodies. Her views are best summarized by her statement regarding women's reproductive freedom:
Additionally, compulsory sterilization efforts could be implemented. become glorified in eugenics programs. Davis asserts that the birth control proponents within the feminist movement from the very beginning determined that it was the moral. obligation of black and other minority women restrict the size of their inferrior families.
The Roaring Twenties were known as a time of economic boom, pop culture and social developments. This was a time when women began to break norms, they acted rebelliously such as wearing releveling clothing, smoking, and drinking. These women were known as “flappers” who wanted to change their roles in the 1920’s. Birth control activist, Margaret Sanger sought to change the world where women had access to a low cost, effective contraception pill. In “The Morality of Birth Control” Sanger battled opponents who claimed that contraception would cause women to become immoral. The author uses rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos, and fallacies to back up her claim while touching on issues in the church, advancements of women, and the source of disease in the world.
This lecture on the Pill will focus on the introduction, controversies, and outcome of women’s control of contraception during the mid 20th century. It will also discuss how the Pill became an influential stepping-stone for women activists. I chose to focus this discussion on three questions. First, what did the Pill teach us about the role of women in the middle 20th century? Second, what were the arguments for and against the Pill? Lastly, how safe was the Pill and what effects did women experience from taking it? By centering in on these questions, I hope to provide insight on the struggles women faced before and after this birth control technology became readily available to women in the United States.
“When a motherhood becomes the fruit of a deep yearning, not the result of ignorance or accident, its children will become the foundation of a new race." (Margaret Sanger, 1) Margaret Sanger, known as the founder of birth control, declared this powerful statement. It is reality that the rights that are customary for women in the twentieth century have been the product of the arduous physical and mental work of many courageous women. These individuals fought for the right for women to be respected in both mind and body by bestowing on them the rights to protect their femininity and to gain the equivalent respect given to men. A remarkable woman named Margaret Sanger is the individual who incredibly contributed to the feministic revolution that took place in the 1920’s. Her legacy of making the right to use birth control legal for woman is a precedent in history for the foundation of the equal rights battle that is still being fought today. By giving control back to the women in their sexuality, Margaret Sanger also restored confidence in those women who felt that their lives revolved around pregnancy. She has become an influential icon to women all around the world who enjoy the security of birth control that gives them the freedom in their sexuality on a daily bases.
All social classes of women suffered from the ban on birth control devices and information. Though, the working class suffered the most. Working class women were poorly educated and had little to no access to health care and their cultural and religious beliefs taught them to be obedient and to not deny sex to their husbands.[6] Though, they were “Denied information from the medical establishment on birth control and fearing contraception as well, made working-class women resort to crude and often deadly methods of abortion to end their unwanted pregnancies.” [6] Dangerous self-induced abortions led to death, permanent damage and/or comas. Without Progressive activists like Sanger and Goldman, women would not have the sexual freedoms that they have today. The birth control movement forced Americans to open their eyes and see the need for contraceptive devices and educational information pertaining to their bodies. Birth control meant freedom for women. The freedom to decide when was the right time for them to have children and to decide how many children they wanted to have. Birth control clinics educated women about their bodies and gave them choices in the matter of pregnancies. Clinics gathered extensive research and information, which led to greater advances and knowledge in the medical
Since the sixteenth century, one of the most important roles of mothers, or women in general, was to have children. Although most women accepted this role and believed it was their duty to have children, not every woman was pleased with this seemingly confining role. Within the confines of this role there were also many misconceptions. At the time, most people believed that although male involvement was necessary for the conception of children, women controlled many aspects of the child, including the sex of the child. While it was a common belief that women controlled certain aspects of pregnancy, women really had no control over when and if they got pregnant. Prior to the eighteenth century there was really no indication of widespread use of birth control methods. Without reliable birth control, women would often become a mother within their first year of marriage and continue to have children every couple of years until menopause. Although women during this time period experienced high birth rates, they often did not end up raising nearly as many children as they gave birth to, since the infant mortality rate and death rate were very high. With such a high death rate, birth control was not as necessary as it would be in a more modern...
Birth control pills gave women the right to be in charge of their own conception or lack thereof.
During the early 1900s, American nurse Margaret Sanger led the birth-control movement in the United States. She and others opened clinics to provide women with information and devices. Although frequently jailed, she and her followers were instrumental in getting laws changed. In subsequent years, laws against birth control gradually weakened, and more effective methods were developed.