The Morality of Birth Control
The birth control movement is a reform campaign that began in 1914 and worked to increase the availability of female birth control through legalization. Margaret Sanger both opened the birth control clinic in the United States, as well as, advocated vocally for the legalization of birth control. The Morality of Birth Control discusses why birth control should be legalized. As people fought against the legalization of birth control, claiming women should have children and raise a family, Sanger and other advocates fought back explaining women had the right to choose whether they want a child or not. A theme surrounding all aspects of the birth control movement, whether it be talking about contraception or abortion, is a woman has the right to choose whether or not she wants a child.
Margaret Sanger, lead birth control advocate
Eugenics and Birth Control
Margaret Sanger used eugenics as a way to promote the women’s birth control movement. Many people, men in particular, were worried about how white, middle class women are having less and less children while other women, immigrants, were having many. People worried this would corrupt the genetic makeup of the United States, and Sanger used this worry to promote a new viewpoint supporting the allowance of birth control. Eugenics became a branch of the birth control movement to advocate birth control through the notion of cultural betterment through placing restrictions on who could procreate and how many children one would have. Birth control and the movement allows women to choose to procreate and alleviated the worries of those concerned with the gene pool in America.
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade is a Supreme Court ruling that was handed down on January 22ndof 1973. The Supreme Court ruled that unreasonable restrictive state regulation of abortion is unconstitutional. This decision is premised on the ruling of 1965 Supreme Court case, Griswold v. Connecticut, and ones’ right to privacy granted by the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. Roe v. Wade is a landmark decision for women’s rights. Through both Roe v. Wade and other birth control legislation, women gained control of their own bodies. Women becoming more vocal and fighting for their rights, and coming out successful, is a large part of both the suffrage movement and the move from the private to public sphere. Roe v. Wade allowed women to have control over their own bodies and granted them the power to choose to have a family, rather than being forced to be a homemaker.
“State criminal abortion laws, like those involved here, that except from criminality only a life-saving procedure on the mother’s behalf without regard to the stage of her pregnancy and other interests involved violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which protects against state action the right to privacy, including a woman’s qualified right to terminate her pregnancy.”