Feminism

Identification

First wave feminism, occurring between the 1830’s to the early 1900’s, was primarily concerned with women’s suffrage whereas second wave feminism, occurring between the early 1960’s to the late 1980’s, sought to broaden the debate to issues such as “sexuality, family, the workplace, [and] reproductive rights” (Second-Wave). In America, “the abortion reform movement, begun in the 1930’s, [and] gathered momentum in the 1960’s” (Segers, Byrnes 3) at the beginning of the second wave of feminism. Second wave feminism, specifically women’s reproductive rights, focuses on the lack of control women have over their bodies and how that control “is an essential part of being an individual with needs and rights” (Petchesky 4). As stated by Petchesky in Abortion and Woman’s Choice, “a person, to be a person, must have control over himself or herself, in body as well as mind” (Petchesky 3). This movement was originally led by “physicians who feared prosecution for performing illegal therapeutic abortions, [as well as] public health officials […], social workers […] and police officials” (Segers, Brynes 3).

Historical Significance

Second wave feminism, specifically the right to have an abortion within America, is significant because no government should have the ability to force a woman to have a child against her will; women deserve the right to decide what happens with their bodies without the fear of risking their lives to exercise that right. Moreover, women are not truly free until they have full control over their bodies. Second wave feminism has led to abortions being legal in every state, with there being a total of 788 abortion clinics across America as of 2014 (Gould). Second wave feminism can help illuminate the ways in which people sought to oppress women in the past by restricting their reproductive rights and the negative consequences that result from not having access to safe abortions such as severe injuries or in more extreme cases, death. More specifically, the arguments made against having access to abortions provide insight into the commonly held belief of that time period that women were no more than just a vessel to carry another human life (Stetson 252).

Key Historical Proponents

In the Roe v. Wade case in 1973, the Supreme Court “ruled that the right of privacy, grounded in the Fourteenth Amendment’s concept of personal liberty, ‘is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy’” (Segers, Byrnes 5). The Webster v. Reproductive Health Services case in 1989 “sent a clear signal to state governments that the Court was willing to consider abortion restrictions that did not, strictly speaking, adhere to the government judicial precedent” (Segers, Byrnes 7). Specifically, states could now restrict the accessibility of abortions at twenty weeks instead of the twenty-eight weeks originally established in Roe (Segers, Byrnes 7). The Planned Parenthood v. Casey case in 1992, allowed states to impose [even] more conditions on the availability of abortions, particularly after the first trimester” (Segers, Byrnes 10). Despite the advances made through second wave feminism, a woman’s right to have an abortion is still constantly under attack today by pro-life supporters. During Donald Trump’s “first day in the Oval Office, he signed a ban on federal money going to international groups that perform or provide information on abortions” (Trump’s). Furthermore, Trump formally backed a House bill earlier this month “that would ban abortions after 20 weeks,” (Hellmann) in an attempt to “secure critical pro-life protections” (Hellmann).

Natalie Schalo

 

Bibliography

Gould, Rebecca Harrington and Skye. “The number of abortion clinics in the US has plunged in the last decade – here’s how many are in each state.” Business Insider, 10 Feb. 2017. 13 Oct. 2017, www.businessinsider.com/how-many-abortion-clinics-are-

in-america-each-state-2017-2.

Hellmann, Jessie. “Trump administration backs 20-Week abortion ban.” The Hill, 2 Oct. 2017, 13 Oct. 2017, thehill.com/policy/healthcare/353533-trump-administration

-backs-20-week-abortion-ban.

Petchesky, Rosalind P. Abortion and Woman’s Choice. 1984.

“Second-Wave feminism.” Wikipedia, 13 Oct. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-wave_feminism.

Segers, Mary C., and Timothy A. Byrnes. Abortion politics in American states. Sharpe, 1995.

Stetson, Dorothy M. Abortion, Politics, Women’s Movements, and the Democratic State. 2001.

“Trump’s order on abortion policy: What does it mean?” BBC News, 24 Jan. 2017, 13 Oct. 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38729364.