The Right to Birth Control, Article Review Example

The controversy surrounding birth control has become increasingly relevant in recent years and demonstrates the expanded influence of government on birth control rights for women in the United States. The article by Gordon (60) begins with a modern take on the issue of birth control and transitions to a historical approach to this topic. For example, the article addresses the lack of basic rights for women in the mid-19^th Century and demonstrates how far the United States has come in this regard (Gordon 60). However, even further back during ancient times, birth control was practiced in different forms, with abortion as the primary method and remained the primary choice until the 1840s, when the tide shifted and abortion was recognized separately rather than only as a form of birth control (Gordon 61). During this era, anti-abortion advocacy became very popular and coincided with the continued desire for women to obtain greater freedom and independence, in light of the opportunities available for women during the Industrial Revolution (Gordon 61). In 1873, birth control in any form became an illegal practice and demonstrated the impact of government influence on women’s rights (Gordon 61). During this period, birth control practices and regulation continued in illegal forms and through police bribes, and when abortions required hospitalization, information was coerced out of patients to name the persons who performed these procedures (Gordon 61).

Prior to World War I, it was determined that birth control options were critical due to ever-increasing population statistics, with social activists Margaret Sanger and Emma Goldman at the helm of this movement (Gordon 61). After the war had ended, male birth control also became more popular and in particular, condoms “for prevention of disease only” (Gordon 61). When the diaphragm was developed, it was an important shift for activists to promote birth control as a different option from abortions and demonstrated the necessity to make birth control a legal option, while abortion remained illegal across the US (Gordon 61). In the 1960s, abortion rights became a prominent issue and in 1973, Roe vs. Wade determined that banning abortion was unconstitutional (Gordon 61). Another issue to consider during the this era was the use of birth control for all persons, not only those who were married and who were looking to limit the size of their families for different reasons (Gordon 61). When the Supreme Court declared abortion unconstitutional, this option was unacceptable to Catholics and from their perspective, the intent to conceive was the only reason for sexual intercourse (Gordon 61). However, into the later years of the 20^th Century, women were employed in significant numbers and was a necessity for survival, and smaller families became the norm (Gordon 62). The right-to-life campaign of the 1980s and 1990s became a slogan for the murder of unborn children, but was clouded by the reality of women wanting greater control and freedom over their reproductive choices on all levels (Gordon 62). The growth of the Evangelical faith further supported the pro-life movement and transformed into an extreme right-wing sect of the Republican Party, which continues strong today and attempts to control the reproductive rights of women in extreme ways (Gordon 62). The primary arguments against birth control in the modern era are 1) government should not be responsible for paying for birth control through the Affordable Care Act; 2) the mandate for contraceptive insurance coverage “violates religious freedom” (Gordon 63); 3) married women should not require any form of birth control and unmarried women are “sluts” if they use birth control (Gordon 63); 4) some believe that abortion and birth control are racist from the eugenics perspective; and 5) birth control and abortions are unsafe and are detrimental to the health of women (Gordon 63).

The arguments proposed in this article are difficult to accept because many men control the right-wing perspectives and are advocates for these arguments without even understanding this perspective because simply put, they are not women and should not regulate the choices that women make regarding their reproductive rights. This is an unacceptable framework and set of arguments in advocating against abortion and birth control. Therefore, women should have the freedom to make their own decisions regarding these issues and how they choose to manage their own reproduction without the interference of a largely male-dominated perspective. It is also important to recognize that women’s rights should not be infringed upon for any reason and should reflect personal choices and freedoms above all other objectives.

One of the key problems to consider with the arguments in the article is that the male-dominated right wing perspective does not recognize and support the basic rights and freedoms of women. Without this support, many issues and concerns associated with women’s reproductive rights become clouded and highly judgmental in nature. Women become lost in the sea of opinions that represent political points of view and it becomes increasingly difficult for them to exercise their rights and freedoms appropriately. This is a challenging set of circumstances for women and because of the political nature of reproductive rights, these issues continue to prevail. It is necessary for women to continue to take a stand for their beliefs and to take the steps that are necessary to achieve their objectives in exercising their freedoms in this manner. In essence, government should not have any say in how a woman treats her body and her reproduction; therefore, they should not possess the ability to regulate based upon any number of different agendas that are designed to make their rights and freedoms trivial and less worthy of independent thought and analysis.

 Works Cited

Gordon, Linda, 2012. “Citizenship and the right to birth control.” Dissent, Fall, 2012: pp. 60-64.