My research topic is the historical abortion laws of the twentieth century America. I am very much disturbed emotionally about the pain and suffering women went through for almost a century without legal right to abortion. Abortion was made illegal at the end of the nineteenth century. My research has proven that since then one million women died every year from the complications caused by abortions performed by non-professionals.
Many changes took place in all aspects of American society since the beginning of the twentieth century. Federal and state governments had taken many reform initiatives. The progressive movement was on the rise. Civil rights movement was at work in full force. The sad fact is all these initiatives were taken by male government and non-government activists; however, no man whether from political or social arena took the initiative to fight for women’s abortion right which was extremely critical for their health.
It was women who had begun the formal resistant and it was women who earn their abortion right by expanding their merits in all aspects of society. Women cried, begged and suffered but no one heard. However, when they emerged as a dominant majority, their voice was heard. Politicians needed women’s support, so many came to their aid. As a result of their vigorous struggle, women can choose abortion during the first tri-master now. But laws are still controlling abortion by restricting it. Women’s most personal matter is in the hands of lawmakers even at this post modern era. The threat to abortion right still exists today. It may be taken again; women must keep their eyes open and continue to speak up.
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I think your research topic is one that is near the top of many women's lists of importance, and I agree that the government should take a good look at what is best for our country and more specifically our women.
The point I would like to make however is to remind you of what we read about birth control in Germany after WWI last semester. When government starts making decisions for a woman's personal well being, it is a very touchy and potentially dangerous scenario, and there should never be too much intervention such as the whole sterilization process. So I think that this type of personal dilemma needs to have a balance of government control and the choice of the woman, because I do think there are certain instances where there needs to be laws to limit abortions. There does need to be a sense of responsibility involved as well for the woman, otherwise things can always get out of hand. Good luck!
Thank you for the comment. It is always nice to hear how others feel about legal restriction against abortion. However, I am one of the radical feminists who are determined to speak up for women’s rights at any point. Who knows I may join them one day!!
I believe abortion is a matter for us to decide upon; legal interference is irrelevant and intolerable in this matter. We should be able to choose abortion just like we choose to see a physician when we become sick.
Thanks to the birth control; we do not have to challenge the intruding laws that restrict women’s access to abortion even today. Think about those women; their situation was very pitiful. They did not have the access to birth control nor did they have the legal access to abortion. What could those women do? For many years, nobody heard their cry. However, they retaliated against laws by embracing self-induced painful abortion. Law could not keep them from abortion. Could it? Millions of women turned to illegal abortion anyway. At the end, the proof is that unconstitutional and unfair law just does not work.
I guess it is a controversial topic. Resistance creates more resistance and at one point, it becomes a revolution. However, counseling and increasing the birth control methods to poor women would be more effective to avoid clash between lawmakers and rebellious women. So much can be argued for and against about this issue. However, the aim of this sort of matter should be the ability to find the most appropriate answer.
It would help here to separate out several different "regimes" so you could see what options are available. One might be unrestricted access to abortion by women; a second might be government control over abortion and other means (i.e. sterilization) that could limit reproductive rights. This is essentially what Germany and the United States practiced in the interwar period. You might also have an open system that allowed women access but restricted it in certain instances, e.g. in the third trimester of pregnancy (except in cases where the mother's health was in jeopardy). Reliable birth control and abortion rose at about the same time as eugenic thought and the two were related, sometimes tangentially and sometimes intentionally. It is important to separate out the use of birth control for eugenic purposes from other purposes.
i did a paper on margaret sanger a few years ago so this is a topic that greatly interests me.
the possession of reproductive rights is precarious because there are still so many people who oppose them. the fact that contraception and legalized abortion were withheld for so long despite all the evidence demonstrating the need for them to protect the health and lives of women,really just goes to show how little lawmakers regarded females.
they were more concerned with elevating their own moral or political agendas and far less worried about the loss of lives and compromised wellbeing that resulted from rampant sexual diseases, botched abortions, and extreme poverty due to millions of unplanned, undesired pregnancies.
its important for women to realize that they cant take these rights for granted and for them to stay active and aware of decisions and legislation that directly impact their rights.
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