Ashley Wilson
History 110
Professor Rosalski
November 15, 2017
The Birth Control Movement Outline
I. Introduction
a. History of The birth control movement
i. During the Progressive Era, the birth control movement was an essential cause for many activist women to fight against the prevention of birth control methods. The birth control movement was a social reform campaign from 1914 to 1945 of which women began to gain sexual freedom and sexual education.
b. The main issue
i. Many Americans were opposed to birth control and believed that birth control was immoral and selfish because God made women to bear children and many women were limiting their families to their own personal comfort. On the other hand, those in favor of birth control believed that it gave women the right to take control of their own body.
c. The cause of The birth control movement
i. In regards to women’s sexual freedoms, laws prohibited women from receiving contraceptives. This was a major issue pertaining to low-income women who couldn’t afford to have a child or afford the process of abortion. Those who lived in poverty suffered the most because the more children they had, the more impoverished they become. Even working-class women were banned from receiving information on birth control; resulting in crude methods of abortion.
d. Influential leader
1. Margaret Sanger was the founder of the birth control movement in America and was credited with originating the term “birth control. Sanger believed in
Today, the availability of birth control is taken for granted. There was a time, not long passed, during which the subject was illegal (“Margaret Sanger,” 2013, p.1). That did not stop the resilient leader of the birth control movement. Margaret Sanger was a nurse and women’s activist. While working as a nurse, Sanger treated many women who had suffered from unsafe abortions or tried to self-induce abortion (p.1). Seeing this devastation and noting that it was mainly low income women suffering from these problems, she was inspired to dedicate her life to educating women on family planning—even though the discussion of which was highly illegal at the time (p.1). She was often in trouble with
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,
The Birth Control Movement of 1912 in the United States had a significant impact on Women’s Reproductive Rights. Women in the 1800s would frequently die or have complications during or after childbirth. Even if the woman would have died, they would still have a great amount of children. As the years progressed into the 1900s, the amount of children being born dropped. Because of this, birth control supplements were banned, forcing women to have a child that she was not prepared for or did not want to have in the first place.
Margaret Sanger and the Birth Control Movement highlighted a variety of important issues. These issues include women’s right to make decisions privately versus the right of a community to regulate moral behavior; the ethnic demographics of the American people; the ability of women to control their own physical destinies by limiting family size; and the idea that small families were the way to keep the American dream alive. The debate over birth control spoke to personal and political issues, which poses the question: Was birth control merely a matter of individual choice, or was it about power, wealth, opportunity and similar issues? Birth control was not merely a technique to expand the realm of personal freedom; it grew out of a radical
In 1917, Margaret Sanger was arrested for distributing contraception pessirie to a immigrant women. Margaret Sanger, was a nurse, mother, sex educator, writer and most importantly an activist. Sanger, fought for women’s rights which one of the main one was to legalize birth control in America. During the process of fighting Sanger establish the American Birth Control League, now called Planned Parenthood. Sanger fund money to Grisworld the created of the hormonal birth control pill the dream of Sanger. Sanger, “wanted to have it all, and was birth control as the necessary condition for the resolution of their often conflicting needs.” (Chesler 25). Birth control has always been a colossal issue since it was invention in the 1960s by Griswold and has remained and extraordinarily controversial topic since. Therefore, if teenagers get their parent’s consent for birth control, teens will still manage to get their way and have sex, parent will think they are unhealthy, and last some parent would want their female teenager conserve until marriage. Meanwhile, if they do not get the parental consent, teenage will be encouraged to be more sexually active, female teenage will know they are safe on not getting pregnant, and it will encourage female be promiscuous.
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
Margaret Sanger founded a movement in this country that would institute such a change in the course of our biological history that it is still debated today. Described by some as a "radiant rebel", Sanger pioneered the birth control movement in the United States at a time when Victorian hypocrisy and oppression through moral standards were at their highest. Working her way up from a nurse in New York's poor Lower East Side to the head of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Margaret Sanger was unwavering in her dedication to the movement that would eventually result in lower infant mortality rates and better living conditions for the impoverished. But, because of the way that her political
"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
Birth control has been a controversial topic since the 1960’s, when the pill arose on the scene and gained popularity. Men and women of certain religious faiths have sought to prevent other women from using birth control. However, most women want to be able to choose when the time is right for them to have a child. This is why birth control is essential, because it allows women and couples in general the freedom to choose and plan their families. In many cases the need to control women by controlling their access to birth control goes all the way to the federal government. The federal government determines what types of birth control are allowed on the market and who has access to them. Some Presidential administrations look more kindly
In addition to the articles she composed, Margaret Sanger decided to make sexual protection an option for all people. Previously, contraceptives and spermicides were only distributed to those who had information on the matter and access to them (Margaret 1). Sanger was past 80 when she saw the first marketing of a contraceptive pill, which she had helped develop, although legal change was slow. It took until 1965, a year before her death, for the Supreme Court to approve the use of contraception, but Sanger had accomplished a goal (Margaret 1). Now, contraceptives were available to all women, in all walks of life, regardless of their financial situations. In her mind, poor mental development was largely the result of poverty, overpopulation and the lack of attention to children. This was definitely one of the reasons why Sanger desired to make protection available to lower class citizens, along with the wealthy.
Women deserve to choose if they want to be a mother or not. Birth control is right to use if you have been raped, not mentally capable of being a mother and not have the control to be a mother. Every child born should be wanted and not just here; no child deserves to be abused or mistreated. "Margaret Sanger was an early feminist and women's rights activist who coined the term "birth control" and worked towards its legalization" (bibliography, 2014). Ms. Sanger was born to Anne Higgins on September 14, 1879, in Corning, New York.
Although they had a lot of opponents who did not like the idea because of religious beliefs, the law was still able to pass. American women wanted to reduce the odds of pregnancy so that they will not start another baby boom. Women usually abstinence to avoid pregnancy but the women’s movement, this time, pushed for birth control. “The birth control pill was simpler and far more reliable than anything that came before”(Collins, pg. 101). Birth control did not only help women, it helped the country to escape another baby boom that would have happened.
Birth control also known as “the pill” gained popularity very quickly in the sixties, for it allowed women the option to not have children which in turn gave them a sense of power. The pill gave women a voice; it allowed them the opportunity to escape domestic life and motherhood for something they were in control of. Not only did women gain power in the sixties they helped women of the future push political boundaries that dealt with their bodies and the idea of sex such as the landmark court case Roe v. Wade in 1973 where women were able to gain the rights to their own bodies. Along with this new way of thinking came the sexual revolution which helped to dissolve some of the taboo surrounding sex and expanded acceptance of nontraditional relationships, free
One of the many purposes of birth control is to avoid unwanted pregnancies. In this day and age the decision to take birth control should be a mere right and not a debate, but society has still not fully accepted the use of birth control even though “ninety-eight percent of women use birth control at some point in their lives” (Milligan, 2014, p. 3). Birth control has unfortunately earned a negative stigma because it allows women to have sex without getting pregnant and that is frowned upon throughout parts of society. Some members of society have even compared the use of birth control to abortion. Women who choose to take birth control should not be judged and the use of birth control amongst women should no longer be considered disgraceful. The reliable access to birth control should be made available to all women no matter their race, age, and class.
Birth control came about from women who were obligated to have families and not letting it be a choice. Many women have heard about contraceptives that are advertised on tv, magazines, and even from a family doctor. Women knew very little of what birth control could do or even prevent. Women thought that just by taking birth control it could prevent pregnancy. They were not well informed that all body