Contraceptives and Abortion in the 19th Century
Contraceptives and abortion were the two most often utilized reproductive methods for women in the 19th century. By assisting the women in controlling delivery and illness contraction during this time, the midwives served as both gynecologists and obstetricians. However, on the grounds of moral degradation and the children’s right to live, religious leaders, the American Medical Organization, and certain politicians opposed the legalization of this reproductive solutions technique. In this sense, the research study addresses some of the historical and modern implications and ramifications of these techniques using annotated bibliographies. The aim is to show that the use of contraceptives and abortion as methods of controlling birth continue to dominate the reproductive solution approaches in women both in the past and in today’s society as a rights issue.
Annotated Bibliographies
Kohm, L., & Holmes, C. (2000). The Rise and Fall of Women’s Rights: Have Sexuality and Reproductive Freedom Forfeited Victory?. William & Mary Journal Of Women And The Law, 6(2), 381-421. Retrieved from http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1232&context=wmjowl
The article by Holmes and Kohm extensively discusses the topics of the woman body, the choices of reproductive solutions, and the approach to equality rights through the movements and activist groups. The authors in this particular piece argue that women are discriminated by their male counterparts, receive less pay, and have no voice regarding their reproductive health since the society does that instead. The relevance of this article to the research is how the authors trace the inequalities to the historical developments of rights issues. In addition, the authors indicate the connection between the rights and the reproductive freedom of the female gender that forms the essence of debates today. The authors highlight important facts such as advancements in reproductive solutions such as the use of contraceptives, and abortion in the 19th century by the society. The authors argue that women during this time did not have a voice in the number of children they want, or be in control to make decisions about their body. Therefore, these insights contribute to the research process due to their relevance to the debate over the use of contraceptives and abortion by women in the past and current forums through the movements and activist groups.
Neumann, C. (2015). Annie Cossins, Female criminality: Infanticide, moral panics, and the female body. Australian & New Zealand Journal Of Criminology, 48(4), 594-596. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004865815600608
The article by Neumann (2015) is a review of Cossins’s book in which the author discusses various effects of reproductive consequences that women went through in the 19th century. They include baby-faring (giving a baby to foster families or children homes because a mother is not able to raise the child), Infanticides, and moral panics. The relevance of this article is how the author draws the connection of the mothers killing their infants through abortion or lack of contraceptives in reviewing criminal charges of unjust convictions. The argument is that the pressures and lack of legal compelling of men to take responsibilities are the drivers for the advancement of all types of birth controls during this period. In this regard, the article is critical in the discussion of the need to use the contraceptives and abortion as reproductive solutions in the 1900’s.
Czechowski, A. (2016). What were women’s reproductive solutions in the 19th century?. Retrieved 30 July 2017, from https://www.quora.com/What-were-womens-reproductive-solutions-in-the-19th-century
The article by Czechowski (2016) discusses various forms of abortion and use of herbal contraceptives during the 19th century. The information by this author is critical in identifying the methods of birth controls and treatment of diseases as a result of intercourse in this particular period. Also, through the author’s analysis of how the development of the contraceptives such as the use of herbs throughout the years and the effectiveness of their use in birth control. The argument is that the effectiveness of these methods could have facilitated the advocacy on the use of contraceptives today.
Manning, K. (2014). What Abortion Was Like in the 19th Century. ELLE. Retrieved 31 July 2017, from http://www.elle.com/life-love/a14570/abortion-in-the-19th-century/
Manning in her article discusses various reasons why women in the 19th century resulted to using pills and abortion to get rid of unwanted pregnancies. The author does not only give insight into the reasons for the use of the means but also traces the presence these reproductive solutions during this period. Some of the reasons the author gives include religious virtues, society beliefs on morality, and the unexpected pregnancies for young couples. Also, during this time, the author argues there were no legal procedures for restricting the practice. As a result, even doctors could advertise abortion procedures and use of monthly pills for ladies in the magazines in the first half of the century.
Malik, Z., Habib, S., Rehman, M., & Maqbool, A. (2015). Contraceptive Knowledge, Attitude & Practice among Parous Women attending Gynae Outdoor of Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Rahim Yar Khan. Retrieved 31 July 2017, from http://www.pjmhsonline.com/2015/jan_march/pdf/80%20Contraceptive%20Knowledge,%20Attitude%20&%20Practice%20among%20Parous%20Women%20attending%20Gynae%20Outdoor%20of%20Shaikh%20Zayed%20Hospital,%20Rahim%20Yar%20Khan.pdf
According to the article by Malik et al. (2015), the research aims at looking into how the attitudes of the female gender in Pakistan view the use of contraceptives today. The authors use the variables of women’s attitude, perspectives, knowledge, and use of this reproductive solution today after exposure to the family planning methods. According to the results, 68% of them feel it is an important precaution to birth control hence the attendance in the hospital to gain education on the same (Malik et al., 2015). Though the research by the authors indicate the use of emergency contraceptive is lower than 10%, most teenage girls today use them which signify that the knowledge and education on the contraceptives can influence their early engagements in sexual relations. However, it is necessary to encourage them to use to avoid the burden of unwanted pregnancies or contraction of diseases. Therefore, the research is important in discussing the contemporary view of women on this topic.
