Reproductive Rights Book Report

Historiographical interpretations of the Civil Rights Movement have often been documented as a history of great men mostly focusing on black men like Dr. Martin Luther King, John Lewis, Jim Lawson, and Malcom X. As scholars of the civil rights movement, we now recognize the ways in which the prevailing forces of both patriarchy and sexism have done the work of minimizing and erasing the important contributions of women throughout the progression of human history. Whether we look to the development of the ancient the Roman empire or more contemporarily at the development of the United States of America, women have played a very important role in ensuring the success and sustainability of said nations. The same trend follows when considering various social movements throughout society. From the protestant reformation to the civil rights movement, we can observe that women played a big role in both their formation and in their conclusion.

In the news article “Abortion: Every Woman’s Rights” Sharon Smith wrote an article about women’s rights to get abortions prior to the hearing of the Planned Parenthood v. Casey court case, “which threatened to severely restrict women access to abortion” (Smith). Women wanted reproductive control over their lives and felt that they were not equal to men no matter what advances they got at work and how high their level of education was. The women’s right movement wanted women to have the choice of abortion for all women, the rich and the poor. In the US, thirty- seven states did not provide

Generations of women fought courageously for equality for decades. The ratification of the Nineteenth amendment was vindication for so many women across the country. After having spent so many years oppressed and unable to make way for themselves, women everywhere were growing tired of being unable to own property, keep their wages and the independence that an academic education gave them. The decades that ensued brought with them various female activists, men that supported them and a division of its own within the movement. The women’s suffrage movement lasted 71 years and cam with great discourse to the lives of many women who fought for the cause.

Females across the nation started speaking out against gender inequality. Discrimination in areas such as the workplace, marriage, and government had become overwhelmingly obvious and women started fighting back (Banks 207). This uprising coincided with the Civil Rights Movement. During the same time, African-Americans were standing up against segregation and for racial equality. These two movements went hand-in-hand, as they both had similar motives. Both women and blacks were fighting against oppression in their own country, and they benefitted from each other’s successes. But it wasn’t strictly these two minority groups standing up for themselves during this time, as Mexicans and Native Americans joined the cause too. They also spoke out against inequality by hosting similar protests and demonstrations as the black and women’s rallies. This showed how the 1960’s were a popular time for minority groups to take a stand and make their voices heard, and women were only one of the many groups of people who rallied for change during that time.

Angela Davis discusses, women of Latina and black backgrounds who had no control over the number of children they would have or how they will live. Angela Davis believes this is what is separating colored/ immigrant women from participating in the

In the mid-1800s American women united to participate in social reforms movements more than ever before. This movement’s involved: struggle to abolish slavery, outlaw alcohol, and ban child labor among others (Rupp, 1987). Despite the failure of the women's movement to attain one among its primary goals, the passage of the ERA , the movement overall accomplished an excellent deal. For several women activists, management over their bodies was a central issue in the campaign. Women needed to be liberated to explore and control their gender, while not being judged by society. An oversized a part of management during this arena concerned having access to birth control, or contraception ways (Fishman, 1998). The contraception pill, associate inoculant,

July 13, 1848 marked the beginning of a movement that would shape the beliefs and rights of today’s society. It was on this day that the fight for social and political equality among America’s women began to develop. This renowned movement, the Women’s Rights Movement, had many goals in which mighty-powerful women would achieve with a mind-set to push them through any barrier or obstacle obstructing their path to equality. Lasting until 1920, the Women’s Rights Movement had a target towards changing how women were treated and looked upon within their “stereotypical” societies. Women advocated their rights through organizations and campaigns, as well as educating others of the unfair justice. With the help of the Women 's Rights Movement and the brave, fearless women who supported this reformation, the fight for women 's liberation was on the move towards success. This historic

During a time in which white supremacy was being challenged by an ever-increasing African population, a woman named Margaret Sanger “sought to purify America’s breeding stock and purge America’s bad stains” (Planned Parenthood). She set out to establish the American Birth Control League, which eventually became the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). Sanger’s actions provoked much controversy because at the time not only was contraception illegal in the United States, but it was denounced by almost every major religious denomination (Contraception History). Margaret Sanger set out on a mission to overcome first the church and then the state in order to “stop bringing to

The topic of reproductive rights surrounding women in Texas has been a hot buttoned issue since the closing of many reproductive centers across the state. Recently damaging abortion restrictions were passed and therefor encroach on women’s reproductive rights even more by decreasing access to abortion care. Texas’ 84th Legislature, both passed HB 3994 as a law and had it Governor Abbott make it effective with his signature on July 8, or this year. This law complicates access to abortion services for mistreated and neglected minors and for those who do not possess specific identification cards in Texas.

The early twentieth century was a turning point in American history-especially in regards to the acquisition of women's rights. While the era was considered to be prosperous and later thought to be a happy-go-lucky time, in actuality, it was a time of grave social conflict and human suffering (Parish, 110). Among those who endured much suffering were women. As Margaret Sanger found out, women, especially those who were poor, had no choice regarding pregnancy. The only way not to get pregnant was by not having sex- a choice that was almost always the husband's. This was even more true in the case of lower-class men for whom, 'sex was the poor man's only luxury' (Douglas, 31). As a nurse who assisted in delivering

They affirmed that women must have the freedom to access safe and effective birth control, the freedom of financial equality, and the freedom to vote. Although these women were advocating for financial equality and birth control over a hundred years ago, women today still do not have equal pay; in 2015, women earned seventy-eight cents for each dollar that a man earned for equal work. Moreover, during the 2016 Women’s March, Americans marched to express that they do not support cutting funding to Planned Parenthood, an organization that, like Margret Sanger’s, provides affordable, safe, and effective birth control to women. Many of the efforts that Progressive feminists fought decades ago are still being fought today; the topic is arguably as relevant as it was during the

The United States was founded by the principle that “all men are created equal” but as we struggled for the fight of equality for African Americans, we forgot about the fight for equality for women. It is not until thirty years after the Gilded Age when the 19th Amendment was passed, giving women the right to vote. A major advocate for women’s suffrage was Elizabeth Cady Stanton who believed that “that the isolation of every human soul… must give each individual the right to choose her own surroundings” (188). Even though women were able to come together during this period, they could not fully unite as African American women were left out of the movement, as illustrated in Live Pryor’s plea for help from Susan B. Anthony, another strong advocate for women’s rights. Ultimately

Numerous groups throughout history have wrestled for equal rights and engaged in combat against oppressors. Both the American women’s suffrage movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s and the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s were examples of an oppressed group grappling with those above them for equality. Each group had to press for legislation that would protect them against inequality. Although the time periods of the women’s suffragette struggle and the African American Civil Rights endeavor were separate in history, the goals and methods of each were immensely similar.

These strategies continue to undermine the choices that the Women of Color have in deciding whether or not they want to have children because they do not want to be stigmatized with poverty. Obviously, the adverse and psychological effects of the various interlocking forms of oppressions that limits Women of Color’s reproductive rights makes it very important to understand them.

What were the issues and systemic inequalities that sparked the women’s movement in the 19th century? This is the question that must be answered for all women in the 21st century to pick up the torch and continue the fight for equality and women’s rights. In the 19th century as now there was a divide in what counted as a systematic inequality. In this passage of the essay we will analyze What these issues were, how the women protested these issues, what sorts of conflicts existed within the women’s movement, and how did women of color address conflicts of race, class, and gender in the movement? The issues and systematic inequalities that sparked the women’s movement in the 19 centuries were the misuse of women by the white men.