Abortion and Contraceptives

In order to understand why people tolerate contraception and not abortion, we need to understand a little bit about history and the ways in which morals are influenced and changed. We all navigate life with individual moral compasses, influenced in part by society, religious belief, and let's face it, sometimes politics. When dealing in sexual and reproductive morality it is mostly religious and very political. Until recently most of what happened with a woman's reproductive organs was indeed in the hands of men.

Abortion was a very common practice in the 1700's and early 1800's. It was considered neither a sin by any religious organization or a crime. A woman could obtain an abortion until the time of "quickening", the point at which life is felt. Most abortions were preformed by a midwife, or done with an herbal remedy provided by a pharmacist. The first statute banning abortion was instituted in Connecticut in 1829, making abortion illegal except in cases of rape, incest, and threat of death to the mother. New York followed up with a law the same year and by 1900 the remaining states had a similar version. One would think such a law would be due to moral public outcry or religious objections but the truth is the Catholic Church did not condemn abortion until 1869. The outcry came from the AMA and the nations leaders. The AMA wanted to end competition from the midwives and pharmacists citing herbal remedies were unreliable and unsafe. A predominantly white Protestant republican government feared the dwindling size of families would allow immigrants and other religious races to take over.

Just as there hadn't been an issue with abortion until 1829, there had also been no issue with contraceptive methods. Various methods of contraception have been used for emotional, physical and economical reasons to control family size throughout time. Condoms have been produced in this country since 1840, gaining acceptance as contraception after World War I to prevent the spread of venereal disease. The rhythm method was also widely accepted but very ineffective since there was little information on a woman's fertility cycle. Newspapers were full of ads for herbal contraception. Sears and Roebucks sold contraceptives in their catalog. Condoms could be purchased in vending machines. They were commonplace and their use was advocated. But once again the winds of change would blow and contraception would also come to be viewed as immoral and criminal.

The end of the 1800's saw a new wave of social moralists. Anthony Comstock was able to pass a bill through congress in 1873 making birth control literature obscene, paving the way for Connecticut's birth control law of 1875.The Comstock law was an attempt to stop trade in obscene literature but its true target was birth control and information on sexually transmitted diseases. The government even went so far as to take accurate and concise information on these topics out of the publics grasp, substituting inferior and often unclear information. It seemed the goal however thinly veiled was to keep woman in the role of mother. In 1905 Theodore Roosevelt went so far as to say birth control was a" moral disease". Religious leaders joined the crusade banning anything other than "natural" forms of birth control. Sales of devices and information were illegal in 22 states. Since woman had yet to be afforded the right to vote, state by state the laws passed without a single female voice being heard.

Ideology and conviction are the tools which guide us through moral quagmires. Although heavily influenced by religious background, family upbringing and social mores, they are as individual as we ourselves. When one ideology is forced on a mass of people there is not only bound to be backlash, but often a devastating result.

Given the stringent atmosphere, the early 1900's saw a sharp rise in many things. Birth rates rose dramatically in the poorest sectors. As did infant and mother mortality rates. Poverty and disease rose exponentially with birth rates. What started as an outcry from the AMA to protect woman ended with more woman dying from botched abortions and bad information than had previously before been seen. Men and woman once deemed law abiding citizens and of good moral character were now being fined and imprisoned for the purchase or use of a contraceptive. Not only had contraception and abortion become immoral so had a number of other things. Sex outside of a marriage had always been taboo. Under the new moralist guidelines sex within a marriage for anything other than procreation was sinful. Women seeking education were viewed as immoral. Socialization with men other than in church would also earn you the label. The atmosphere was ripe for an uprising.

Slowly woman began to demand a voice. With the help of a few good men and some very courageous woman things began to change. The first U.S. birth control clinic opened in New York in 1916. Woman won the right to vote in 1920. Birth control laws were challenged and slowly overturned, the last being the Comstock law which wasn't overturned until 1965. 1960 saw the birth control pill become available. 1973 ushered in Roe vs. Wade. The court system, once used to enforce the morality of a population, was now being forced to give the right back to the individual. Regardless of how we feel about contraception and abortion personally, history shows us politics cannot sustain dictation of individual choice.

It would be laughable now to think a woman should not get an education, hold a job or vote on moral grounds Attitudes toward morality have changed drastically. Clearly so have the attitudes toward birth control and abortion. Tolerance for one as opposed to the other comes more from an ethical and religious standpoint than that of the previous two centuries. With the advances in medicine we have gained a great understanding for fertility cycles and the growth of a fetus. Major religions still view abortion as murder, but most allow for some form of birth control. Birth control has come to be accepted by most as the responsible thing to do. Personal feelings on the sexual conduct of the nation aside, condoms are the only way to prevent the spread of HIV and all other sexually transmitted diseases. Birth control is the responsible choice when bringing a child into the world would pose an economic strain personally or on society. For some it is the lesser of two evils, for others it is simply the pragmatic solution. Abortion will most likely always be viewed by religious organizations and certain sectors of the population as murder, making birth control the more tolerable. Let's hope for the sake of the woman who does not view abortion in this light, history does not repeat itself and send her back into the dark alley.

Sources:
http://womenshistory.about.com
http://law.jrank.org/pages/446/Abortion-Abortion-in-American-law-nineteenth-century.html

http://www.religioustolerance.org/abo_hist.htm
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1982/6/82.06.03.x.html