Birth Control Movement In The Early 1900s

When a population of people see an inequality that is affecting many, there is often a collective view for a change that needs to happen. Depending on how broad the inequality reaches, this could call for an uprising of a smaller population to start making the changes and start a movement. One inequality, women’s rights, has become a major movement in the past century. Women did not have all the rights that men had, and to this day women do not have complete equal rights. One of the few movements that started in the early 1900s, when America was becoming a greater nation, was the birth control movement in which proponents for birth control fought for women to have a say in their private lives and reproductive systems. Men were the main adjudicators

The Progressive movement began during this time, and with it brought along many new ideas for people to consider. Those ideas consisted of civil rights with a kick start from the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), labor reform began to focus on children in the workplace, and women’s rights rose to attention with the idea of birth control for females without consultation of the man in a woman’s life. According to Frederick A. Blossom, Managing Editor of The Birth Control Review, “Summed up in a word, by ‘birth control’ is meant the regulation of contraception by harmless means, with a view to preventing birth of undesired children” (12). Birth control was and still is an effective way to prevent pregnancy within a couple, but back in the era of women not having rights, men were in command of most aspects of a relationship and family. Contraceptives in general were left up to the decision of the male in a relationship whether that surround the options for a man to use such as a condom, or if it was desired, a prescription for the woman to have a means of birth control. Contraceptives geared towards females were only allowed distribution with a prescription from a physician. With a prescription comes a hefty price, so on top of everything else, most couples were not able to afford means of birth