The Importance Of Birth Control

Public discussions of birth control were criminalized under the Comstock Act of 1873 because people believed it was immoral. Margaret Sanger, who had opened the first birth control clinic in 1916 despite the Comstock Act of 1873, was a feminist and advocate. After serving prison time, Sanger returned publicly and illegally with drive to present a strong argument that defended the moral use of birth control. Prior to her morally controversial 1921 speech, Sanger was arrested in New York for her intent to advocate public knowledge pertaining to birth control. Although the ethical nature of using birth control is still controversial in America, Margaret Sanger’s 1921 speech “A Moral Necessity for Birth Control” was undoubtedly a catalyst for

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

     Although she had met her goal of legalizing birth control, Margaret Sanger still desired to assist women who were already pregnant but didn’t wish to keep the child. After returning from a national tour in 1916, Sanger opened the nation's first birth control clinic in Brownsville, Brooklyn (Katz 1). This, however, was a minor advancement considering that the clinic was raided in its first nine days of operation and she was taken to prison. The

Although societies with rigorous rules such as the ancient Greeks practiced the use of birth control and the invention of modern contraceptive methods---such as condoms, diaphragms, and douches---have been around since the early 1800’s, birth control still did not prevail in the twentieth century and was highly controversial. Margaret Sanger gave people a new and radical ideology stating how birth control helped women in many more ways than their sexuality. Sanger published many literature pieces about her opinions on options and freedom for women in society. Several other women and doctors acknowledged her argument by broadcasting it during the Progressive Era. When the 1920’s came around,

Women in today’s society have never known a time when contraceptive options were not available to them. As a general statement, acquiring some sort of contraceptives whether it is the pill, patch, condom, emergency contraception, or another of the many types of birth control is not difficult with the many options available to women today. However, backtrack to the early 1900’s and the story was completely different. In 1916, Margaret Sanger made contraceptive history by opening the first birth control clinic in Brooklyn, New York. The fight for birth control began. It was not until years later in 1960 that the birth control pill was approved by the Food and Drug Administration and since then many other varieties of birth control have made their way into the market (Kim & Wasik, 2011). Today, thanks to those like Margaret Sanger who fought for contraceptives, women and couples who wish to avoid pregnancy have more choices than ever before. (Egarter et al, 2013; Perry, 2015).

Birth control seems to be a fundamental part of people’s lives in this day and age. Some people simply do not want to have children until they feel the timing is right. Others, may never want to have children. It would seem logical to respect their choice and allow them the freedom to decide what is best for themselves. Yet, in the late 18th century the Comstock Act prevented the mailing of any type of contraceptives within the United States (PBS). One brave woman in particular was willing to stand up and challenge not only the Comstock Act but also the idea that contraceptive use is immoral. This woman is Margaret Sanger. Margaret Sanger took a stand for women’s rights by using her writing as a means of education, which challenged government regulations and eventually resulted in a shift in the overall acceptance of birth control.

Margaret Sanger, an American nurse, pioneered the modern birth control movement in the United States. She began her movement in 1912, with the publication of information about women 's reproductive concerns through magazine articles, pamphlets, and several books. In 1914, Margaret Sanger was charged with violating the Comstock Law, a federal legislation prohibiting the mailing of obscene material including information about birth control and contraceptive devices. Despite being imprisoned for her actions, she continued to publish information about birth control. On October 16, 1916, in Brooklyn, New York, Margaret Sanger along with her sister Ethel Byrne opened the first of several birth control clinics in America. In 1936 Congress revised

Birth control is a very controversial issue in today's society. Birth control is an act to prevent pregnancy. There are different forms of birth control. I believe it should remain an option to any woman, no matter what their reasoning is. Some people believe that it is the woman's right, but some believe it should not exist due to religious beliefs. I will explain both point of views in this writing.

By allowing women to maintain their right to have free access to birth control, it not only prevents unwanted pregnancies but it also protects women who suffer from reproductive issues, by lessening the side effects of their conditions. If that right were to be revoked or taken away, it would put reproductive health care system back into the dark ages. Maintaining the right to have free access to birth control and other reproductive health services protects not only ourselves, but future generations from the pain and heartache that happens because of lack of preventative and emergency reproductive services.

The Comstock law was an anti-obscenity bill that included the ban of all contraceptives. In 1873 Congress passed the law that made it illegal and a federal offense to distribute birth control through the mail and across state lines. In her 1938 autobiography, Sanger spoke about the anger she felt at the act “To me it was outrageous that information regarding motherhood, which was so generally called sacred, should be classed with pornography (Winderman, 2014).” Even Sanger referred to birth control as “family planning” because it was involved with sex it was classified as pornography. Margaret Sanger kept witnessing the devastating consequences that the Comstock had on women and kept advocating against the law. Eventually she had to flee to Europe as she was violating the Comstock Act. While over in Europe she learned more about how other nations prevented unwanted pregnancies (Winderman, 2014). With her constant determination of making sure to promote the benefits of birth control in 1918 it was available to women to use only for therapeutic purposes. As time progressed so had people’s opinions of birth control. In 1936 the court appealed the decision under United States v. One Package and made it possible for doctors to distribute contraceptives across state lines (American Experience | The Pill | People & Events). Even though

The Comstock Act banned the distribution, advertisement and selling of any types of birth control materials for the prevention of conception or abortion. The law was introduced to prosecute those who sell or distribute information about birth control options that includes hospitals and clinics. During this time, Margaret Sanger started the beginning of birth control movement. Sanger believes that she lost her mother in early age because they have a large family and her mother work hard to raise her children.

Limited knowledge of contraceptives caused great suffering for women during Margaret Sanger’s childhood. Starting from 1873, a law called the Comstock Act that decreed it “illegal to

Margaret Sanger grew up in a poverty-stricken family that included eleven children. Her mother died when she was young, and Margaret believed that the many successful and not so successful pregnancies she endured might have been the cause. Sanger left her family and worked as a nurse in the Lower East Side, which at the time was a very poor immigrant-filled neighborhood. While working there, she treated many women who had either undergone a “back-alley” abortion or had tried to self-terminate their pregnancy. Sanger believed, “No women can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother.” Sanger was one of the first women to fight for birth control. She went to jail many times for opening clinics for and advertising contraceptives to the public. She continued to fight and found many ways to get women the birth control they needed. She established Planned Parenthood and helped fund the creation of the first birth control pill to be approved by the Food and Drug

My Public opinion poll was about Government mandates, on the topic of birth control.  Though i did not have a target group, i found that most of the people who took my poll were women. Only 22 percent of my poll takers were men.  This might have something to do with the fact that women’s birth control does not pertain to men in most cases.  A lot of men, either simply do not care about the topic, or feel it is not their place to state their opinion regarding the topic.  The majority of my poll takers were Democrats.  Out of 52 poll results, 46 percent were Democrats, 19 percent were Republicans, 23 percent belonged to an independent party, and 8 percent were Liberals.  19 out of 39 female poll takers were Democrats that support birth control being covered under all health insurance providers. This is most likely due to the democratic mentality of making the decision up to the individual, but having it be an option provided.

Many women complain about birth control because they don’t want to get fat. That to me sounds ridiculous because either you gain a little weight by taking birth control or you gain a lot when you actually become pregnant. So if you don’t want to put your life on hold then I suggest you think of methods to avoid becoming pregnant. I’m not saying it’s bad to be pregnant but it all comes at its own time and you don’t want to be surprised one day and find out you’re going to be a young or single parent. Birth control has its benefits and you should explore your options before it’s too late.