Throughout history, controlling pregnancy was one of women’s few ways of exercising control over their own lives, giving them the ability to turn from broodmares to women with some semblance of independence. Whether these means be contraceptives, such as birth control, or abortion, the ability to terminate the pregnancy, the pursuit of bodily autonomy has spanned centuries. Starting most notably in the 1910s with Margaret Sanger and her belief that women’s inability to control their family size contributed to the perpetuation of the poverty cycle, decisions made throughout the 1900s affect all women to the present day (Michals 2). The Supreme Court ruling in the 1973 case Roe v. Wade granted long fought over rights to women in the midst of second wave feminism, sparking controversy that presents itself in civilian and government action towards abortion and the women who seek it.
The first American bans on abortion began in Connecticut in 1821, where they banned abortion past the “quickening” or the first noticeable movements of a fetus, usually occurring in the fourth month (Ford 1). Most other states followed with their own abortion restrictions in the mid-19th century at the provocation of the American Medical Association, which wished to eliminate doctor’s competition from midwives and homeopaths (History.com Editors 1). Further obstacles to abortions came in 1869, when the Catholic Church outlawed it, and in 1873 when Congress passed the Comstock Act (2). The Comstock Act was enacted to prevent the spread of “obscene literature” but also prevented contraceptive or abortion-inducing devices from being delivered by mail, as well as preventing the spread of information about abortion, birth control, and sexually transmitted diseases (Ford 1). However, that act didn’t stop Margaret Sanger from promoting and distributing birth control to low income families in the early 20th century through her publication, The Woman Rebel. She was charged with violating the Comstock Law and fled to England. She returned a year later to face trial, though the charges were dropped upon the death of her five year old daughter (Michals 2). She opened the first birth control clinic in America in 1916, but spent thirty days in jail on criminal charges as a consequence. Sanger appealed, and though she lost that appeal, the courts did rule that birth control could be prescribed if it was a medical necessity, allowing Sanger to open a clinic in 1923 that would eventually become Planned Parenthood of America (2). In the 1950s, she recruited a researcher named Gregory Pincus to develop an oral birth control pill, which was approved by the FDA in 1960, and soon after began the second wave of feminism (3).
Second wave feminism is also known as the Women’s Liberation Movement, given the emphasis on women breaking free of the societal confines placed upon them. This included getting women into the workforce, with child care centers and discrimination protection laws to allow them to stay there, equal education rights, and equal job training opportunities. The movement, however, was split on two issues. The passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, which would ensure equality of rights regardless of sex, but others worried that would cause the protective measures put into place for women in the workforce to be voided. The other issue was abortion and birth control (Burkett 3). Despite the controversy among women’s movements, the 1960s and 1970s was a huge time in regards to progress for birth control and abortion rights. 1965 brought Griswold v. Connecticut, where the Supreme Court ruled that birth control bans for married couples infringed on marital privacy laws, and 1972 extended that right to unmarried people as well in Eisenstadt v. Baird (Ford 1). That time also brought more leniency to abortion laws, with clauses being added that excuse abortion in cases of rape or incest. New York became the first state to offer “on demand” abortions for anybody in 1970 (1). Earlier that same year, Hawai’i had enacted a similar policy, though that only applied to residents (History.com Editors 2). The next big development was Roe v. Wade, which reached the Supreme Court in 1973.
It started in 1969 with Norma McCorvey, who recently discovered she was pregnant with a third pregnancy that she could not afford. She had given birth to two previous children, both put up for adoption, and wished to not have to go through that with the third. Texas law, where she resided, stated that an abortion was legal only with risk to the mother, and McCorvery could not afford to travel to another state or pay a doctor for a safe, illegal abortion. After attempting to get an illegal abortion, she was directed to attorneys Sara Weddington and Linda Coffee, who wished to challenge the state’s anti-abortion laws. McCorvey became known as “Jane Roe.” They filed a lawsuit against Henry Wade, district attorney of Dallas County, on behalf of “Roe” and “ all the other women ‘who were or might become pregnant and want to consider all options.’”. Texas Court ruled that laws banning abortions were illegal due to their violation of Constitutional privacy laws, but was appealed to the Supreme Court, who, on January 22 of 1973, struck down the Texas laws banning abortion, setting a precedent that essentially legalized the procedure throughout the country (History.com Editors 2). It proclaimed that no state could regulate abortion within the first trimester, as privacy laws were enough to give women the choice of whether to terminate or not. Furthermore, it said that second trimester abortion could be regulated for maternal health, and that third trimester abortion could be banned due to the viability of the fetus outside the womb (Ford 1).
For some, the existence of Roe v. Wade was worthy of celebration due to how it guaranteed the reproductive rights of women, but many saw it as state sanctioned murder and looked to limit it. Around three years after Roe v. Wade, former Representative Henry Hyde introduced the Hyde Amendment to Congress, which prohibits federal funds from being used for abortions, including funds for Medicaid. This prevents a substantial amount of abortions due to the woman’s inability to pay for it without that insurance (Astor 1). Other rulings have chipped away at Roe v. Wade. The Reagan administration introduced a regulation for federally funded family planning clinics that didn’t allow workers to discuss abortion with patients. That regulation was later overturned by the Clinton administration, which frustrated pro-life civilians into taking matters into their own hands (Ford 2).
Joseph Scheidler founded the Pro-Life Action League in 1980, which sends its members to abortion clinics to try to convince all the women who enter to not abort the fetuses, as well as putting up poster boards of aborted fetuses to further promote their ideals. Randall Terry founded Operation Rescue in 1987, which attempts to stop abortions by destroying clinic property and equipment, blockading the clinics and physically harassing the women who enter. Similar groups have committed violent crimes against people having and providing abortions, like the murder of abortion provider George Tiller during a church service in 2009, or the three abortion clinics bombed on Christmas Day in 1984 as a “birthday gift for Jesus” (Ford 2).
Pregnancy is a taxing experience for women. Physical changes can result in permanent damage and, in many cases, death. For centuries, it has been a tool of female oppression, because for every woman who wants to be pregnant, there is at least one who has been raped, assaulted, or forced into the position in some way. Unwanted pregnancies bring about unwanted children, forced into abusive, neglectful, or impoverished families. Religious and moral ideas work to prevent abortion and continue to force women into these roles, but the landmark 1973 decision of Roe v. Wade holds steady and continues to promise fearful women the right to their own bodies.
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Written By: Volunteer Jaiden Radoczy
Date Published: 05/30/2021
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SOURCES:
Astor, Maggie. “What is the Hyde Amendment? A Look at Its Impact as Biden Reverses His Stance.” The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 7 June 2019. www.nytimes.com/2019/06/07/us/politics/what-is-the-hyde-amendment.html#. Accessed 3 March 2021.
Blackmun, Harry A, and Supreme Court Of The United States. U.S. Reports: Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113. 1972. Periodical. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, loc.gov/item/usrep410113/.
Blackmun, Harry A., and Supreme Court of the United States. “Mary DOE et al., Appellants, v. Arthur K. BOLTON, as Attorney General of the State of Georgia, et al.” Legal Information Institute, www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/410/179.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey". Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Jun. 2016, www.britannica.com/event/Planned-Parenthood-of-Southeastern-Pennsylvania-v-Casey. Accessed 4 March 2021.
Bryant, Amy G., and Jonas J. Swartz. “Why Crisis Pregnancy Centers are Legal but Unethical”. AMA Journal of Ethics, vol. 20, no. 3, March 2018, pp. 269-277.
Burkett, Elinor. "Women's rights movement". Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Nov. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/event/womens-movement. Accessed 3 March 2021.
Cohen, Lizabeth, and David M. Kennedy. The American Pageant. ed. 16, Cengage Learning, January 2015.
Ford, Lynne E. “Abortion.” Encyclopedia of Women and American Politics, Second Edition, Facts On File, 2014. American History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=17199&itemid=WE52&articleId=165409. Accessed 3 Mar. 2021.
History.com Editors. “Roe v. Wade.” History, A&E Television Networks, 2019. www.history.com/topics/womens-rights/roe-v-wade. Accessed 3 March 2021.
Michals, Debra. “Margaret Sanger.” National Women’s History Museum, 2017. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/margaret-sanger. Accessed 3 March 2021.
Planned Parenthood. “Abortion Information | Information About Your Options”. Planned Parenthood, www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/abortion.
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