Birthcontrol and the Work Of Margaret Sanger Essay -- History Historic

Birthcontrol and the Work Of Margaret Sanger Works Cited Missing "A free race cannot be born" and no woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body. No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother"(Sanger A 35). Margaret Sanger (1870-1966)said this in one of her many controversial papers. The name of Margaret Sanger and the issue of birth control have virtually become synonymous. Birth control and the work of Sanger have done a great deal to change the role of woman in society, relationships between men and woman, and the family. The development and spread of knowledge of birth control gave women sexual freedom for the first time, gave them an individual identity in society and a chance to work without fearing they were contributing to the moral decline of society by leaving children at home. If birth control and Sanger did so much good to change the role of women in society why was birth control so controversial?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although birth control and other forms of contraceptives did not fully become legal until the 1960’s they had been developed nearly seventy years earlier in the forms the are still prevalent today (Birth Control in America). The modern condom, or â€Å"...rubber was invented in 1870, but [it] was not the thin latex type†¦Ã¢â‚¬  that is currently prevalent in our society (Hoag Levins 2). An early form of the birth control pill, which Margaret Sanger advocated, was also in existence in the very late 1800’s (Birth Control in America). Contraception was considered an ethical issue, in that the majority of Americans believed it was a form of abortion and therefor it was considered amoral (Birth Control in America). The laws of Sanger's day â€Å"...forced women into celibacy on one hand, or abortion on the other" (Sanger B 3). Why did it take so long to spread and legalize something with the potential to better the lives and life styles of women a nd families in the early 1900’s? It could be partially attributed to the attitude of politicians of the time. President Theodore Roosevelt said "...that the American people would be committing racial suicide"(Birth Control in America). Roosevelt shared a belief, held by the majority of politicians at the time, that families of America should act, as Roosevelt put it "servants of the state; and should provide Children to build national st... ...mple of liberty" for women in America (Sanger).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is true that birth control may not have been the sole factor in the women's movement and freedom of self, but without this key element the struggle would have been longer and harder. Birth control changed family size and structure. It gave women a new sexual freedom with their own body. It gave women a voice and their own identity, which in turn allowed them to have an identity that separates from their spouses. Birth control helped shift slightly the balance of power from only being masculine to shared between the sexes. Margaret did so much to bring the issue of birth control and its benefits in to the for fount in her time. Her writings and actions better the lives of women in America then, and today more then ever. Margaret Sanger wrote the woman "...must emerge from her ignorance and assume her responsibility..." of her own body and "...the first step is Birth Control. Through Birth Control [the woman] will attain voluntary motherhood. Having attained this, the basic freedom of her sex, [the woman] will cease to enslave herself†¦[the woman] will not stop at patching up the world; she will remake it" (Sanger A 36). Birthcontrol and the Work Of Margaret Sanger Essay -- History Historic Birthcontrol and the Work Of Margaret Sanger Works Cited Missing "A free race cannot be born" and no woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body. No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother"(Sanger A 35). Margaret Sanger (1870-1966)said this in one of her many controversial papers. The name of Margaret Sanger and the issue of birth control have virtually become synonymous. Birth control and the work of Sanger have done a great deal to change the role of woman in society, relationships between men and woman, and the family. The development and spread of knowledge of birth control gave women sexual freedom for the first time, gave them an individual identity in society and a chance to work without fearing they were contributing to the moral decline of society by leaving children at home. If birth control and Sanger did so much good to change the role of women in society why was birth control so controversial?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although birth control and other forms of contraceptives did not fully become legal until the 1960’s they had been developed nearly seventy years earlier in the forms the are still prevalent today (Birth Control in America). The modern condom, or â€Å"...rubber was invented in 1870, but [it] was not the thin latex type†¦Ã¢â‚¬  that is currently prevalent in our society (Hoag Levins 2). An early form of the birth control pill, which Margaret Sanger advocated, was also in existence in the very late 1800’s (Birth Control in America). Contraception was considered an ethical issue, in that the majority of Americans believed it was a form of abortion and therefor it was considered amoral (Birth Control in America). The laws of Sanger's day â€Å"...forced women into celibacy on one hand, or abortion on the other" (Sanger B 3). Why did it take so long to spread and legalize something with the potential to better the lives and life styles of women a nd families in the early 1900’s? It could be partially attributed to the attitude of politicians of the time. President Theodore Roosevelt said "...that the American people would be committing racial suicide"(Birth Control in America). Roosevelt shared a belief, held by the majority of politicians at the time, that families of America should act, as Roosevelt put it "servants of the state; and should provide Children to build national st... ...mple of liberty" for women in America (Sanger).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is true that birth control may not have been the sole factor in the women's movement and freedom of self, but without this key element the struggle would have been longer and harder. Birth control changed family size and structure. It gave women a new sexual freedom with their own body. It gave women a voice and their own identity, which in turn allowed them to have an identity that separates from their spouses. Birth control helped shift slightly the balance of power from only being masculine to shared between the sexes. Margaret did so much to bring the issue of birth control and its benefits in to the for fount in her time. Her writings and actions better the lives of women in America then, and today more then ever. Margaret Sanger wrote the woman "...must emerge from her ignorance and assume her responsibility..." of her own body and "...the first step is Birth Control. Through Birth Control [the woman] will attain voluntary motherhood. Having attained this, the basic freedom of her sex, [the woman] will cease to enslave herself†¦[the woman] will not stop at patching up the world; she will remake it" (Sanger A 36).