When we hear the words 'reproductive rights,' our minds often jump to abortion, given its prominence as a highly debated political issue today. However, women’s reproductive rights cover a lot more than abortion—including the legal right to contraception, fertility treatment, reproductive healthcare, access to information and resources, and yes, abortion, too.1 Basically, reproductive rights secure a woman’s freedom in the decision of whether or not she wants to be pregnant.
When we put it this way, it seems pretty reasonable, no? But somewhere along the way, women’s reproductive rights were transformed by political agendas and the influence of religious beliefs, and today, it’s one of the more dividing issues.2 Let’s take look back at the history of women’s reproductive rights in America– and in order to do that, we need to look all the way back to where it began.
The Ancients
Yes, when we say we’re looking all the way back, we really mean all the way back to the very first Western civilizations. Back in the days of Ancient Egypt, Greece, then Rome, contraception was a regular part of people’s sex lives. In fact, for most of history starting back in Ancient times, “birth control” included both contraception and abortion, which was often administered by midwives.3
Condoms were made from animal and fish bladders or intestines, and later, spermicide was made by combining crocodile dung and fermented dough.4 In 1525 BC, Egyptians used a combination of honey, acacia leaves, and crocodile dung to prevent pregnancy.5
The earliest record of abortion was in the Ancient Egyptian Papyrus Ebers from 1600 BC, which described a method where “the woman empties the conceived in the first, second, or third time period.”5 Later, in Ancient Greece and then Rome, abortion was widely accepted (although not very common) for reasons from controlling family size to preventing pregnancy weight gain.6
The Middle Ages
It wasn’t until the Middle Ages that reproductive rights started getting political—more specifically, religious. It was largely during this time that Catholicism became the dominant religion in the West, and with this, new legislation came into play about a woman’s ability to control her own reproductive health. The Church banned both contraception and abortion, associating this sort of family planning with paganism and heretics.7 Of course, this didn’t entirely stop women from taking charge of their reproductive health; at that time, the pull-out method and various herbs and plants inserted into the vagina were used as birth control.8 If that didn’t work, abortions still happened, largely in the form of ingesting herbal concoctions to induce a miscarriage. Of course, if you were one of the midwives administering contraception or abortion, you’d run the risk of being deemed a witch.9
The 1800s
Yes, we did just skip forward in history by nearly 400 years—but that’s because the legislative state of reproductive rights stayed largely the same for these 400 years in Western civilization. The gist of it went like this: The Church was against both contraception and abortion, however, they weren't illegal. In fact, hopping over to the United States, abortion was not just legal, but it was safe, condoned, and a widely practiced procedure in colonial America.10 Abortions were typically performed by midwives, though occasionally by doctors as well. Most were induced using herbal remedies, while surgical procedures were rare and highly dangerous.10
It wasn’t until 1821 that any abortion or contraception laws appeared on the books in the United States. And this is when it started to get weird.
History of Women’s Reproductive Rights in America
1821: The Connecticut General Assembly passed a law banning medical abortion after the “quickening” stage (when fetal movement is detected, usually around four or five months).
1857: The American Medical Association campaigned to make abortion illegal in the United States.11 The context here is important: Starting in 1837 and lasting until 1901, both the UK and the US were in the “Victorian era.” Recently, we wrote about the history of sexual stigmatization, and in that article, we described the Victorian era as “the most rotten age there has ever been for sexuality” because this was a time of extreme conservatism.
Mid 1800s: Contraception and abortions were largely dealt with by midwives throughout history. In the mid-1800s, though, we saw a battle begin between (white, male) physicians and “irregular” doctors like homeopaths and midwives, who were largely women and women of color.12 One example was when the physicians attacked legal abortion, as we saw in 1857.
Some argue that abortion also gave women more independence and choice during this time, which was perceived as a threat.11
1873: The Comstock Act was passed by Congress, making it a federal crime to distribute contraception or information about abortion via mail across state lines. Soon after, 24 states enacted their own law restricting access to contraception on a state level.12
1880: By 1880, all states had laws restricting abortion.13 In some states, there were exceptions if the doctor said the abortion was needed to save the patient’s life.
1910: In 1910—at the tail end of the Victorian era– abortion was not only restricted, but made completely illegal in every state. The stigma around abortion during this time was also at a fever pitch, where women who terminated pregnancies were made out to be selfish, unnatural, unpatriotic, and ungodly.10 At this point, the Comstock Law was still in effect, so the distribution of contraception was also illegal. But physicians were allowed to prescribe birth control methods for “health reasons.”14
1916: A woman named Margaret Sanger opened up the country’s first birth control clinic in Brooklyn. Of course this was completely illegal at the time, so just nine days later, police shut it down and arrested Sanger. After 30 days in prison, Sanger got back to it. She launched the Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau in New York and a few years later, the American Birth Control League, which would later merge and form Planned Parenthood.15
1920s: It wasn’t until the 1920s that scientists began to grasp the relationship between ovulation, estrogen and progesterone in reproduction. This led to the “rhythm method” of contraception.15 It’s important to note that in 1920, women were (finally) given the right to vote with the enactment of the 19th Amendment.
1930s: Still, abortion and contraception were largely illegal except in rare medical circumstances. But during the Great Depression, companies, desperate for income, started scrambling to sell women contraceptives under the guise of “feminine hygiene” products.15 Some of these products, like the “Lysol douche” were extremely dangerous and ineffective.
In 1930, illegal abortion procedures were the cause of death for 2,700 women.16
In 1936, an amendment was made to the Comstock Laws, making it legal for doctors to send contraceptives across state lines. This was largely thanks to work Margaret Sanger did behind the scenes.
On a side note, Margaret Sanger seems amazing right? Wrong. While she was an early advocate for women’s reproductive rights, she was extremely racist and a proponent of eugenics and even endorsed a ruling where The Supreme Court decided it should be able to forcibly sterilize people deemed “unfit” for procreation, without their knowledge or consent.17
Reproductive Rights Movement 1960s
The conversation largely remained the same for women’s reproductive rights until the 1960s, when it all started to change with a little something called “the pill.”
1960: The first-ever, FDA-approved oral birth control pill was released, but the pill was only legal for married women and it wasn’t yet available in all 50 states.17
1965: Griswold vs. Connecticut ruled that states could no longer deny married couples contraception. This led 10 more states to legalize the pill.17
Early 70s: Just seven years later, the U.S. Supreme Court made it illegal to deny anyone—married or otherwise—access to birth control. So by the early 70s, contraception was legal for all in the U.S.17
During this time, women’s roles at home and in the workforce were starting to change, and people started to demand abortion access. Remember, it was still illegal from the mid-1800s at that point. But by the early 70s, states began to change laws to allow abortion in certain cases. During this time, the first Planned Parenthood offered abortion care in New York.17
1973: Let’s zoom in on 1973, a landmark year for reproductive healthcare. Roe v. Wade protected the right to abortion in all 50 states, which made abortion more accessible throughout the country, and set a legal precedent for decades to come.13
1976: The Hyde Amendment was put into place, which prevented Medicaid from covering abortion care. This meant that low-income people—largely marginalized communities—would no longer have access to abortion.13
The 80s and 90s: With all of the expansion of reproductive rights in the 60s and 70s, it’s no surprise that the 80s and early 90s saw some big pushback. During this time, laws were passed that restricted funds from healthcare providers who discussed abortion with their patients. In 1992, the Supreme Court upheld the right to abortion but allowed states to put their own regulations into place as they pleased.17
Meanwhile, largely because of the pill, more women than ever were employed.15
By the end of the 20th century, the FDA approved Plan B emergency contraception (by prescription), as well as various new methods of birth control including the birth control shot, the ring, the patch, and the implant.17
The turn of the century: The early 2000s saw an expansion of reproductive healthcare, including contraception and abortion. Mifepristone, or abortion medication, was approved by the FDA during this time, and Plan B became available over-the-counter for anyone 18 and up.17
2010: It wasn’t until 2010 when the Affordable Care Act passed that birth control was covered by insurance.
And all of this brings us to the present day. In 2021, Texas was the first state to instate a near-total abortion ban. Less than a year later, the Supreme Court issued its ruling which overturned Roe v. Wade, and ended the federal constitutional right to abortion. After that, some states quickly moved to ban some or all abortion.18
Since that decision, 14 states have made abortion illegal.18 On the other hand, birth control still remains widely available, and in 2023, the FDA approved the first over-the-counter birth control pill, Opill.19
It’s a largely unknown future for women’s reproductive rights in the US, and many say the upcoming election will set its course.20
A note on sex and gender: Sex and gender exists on spectrums, and this article uses terms like “male” or “female” to refer to sex assigned at birth. Learn more.
References:
- Reproductive Rights - Science Direct
- Cultural Issues, Biden and Trump Voters and the 2024 Election | Pew Research Center
- The lesser-known history of birth control - The Washington Post
- History of contraception - ScienceDirect
- A Brief History of Birth Control in the… | Our Bodies Ourselves Today
- Abortion in Antiquity
- BBC - Religions - Christianity: Contraception
- In Ancient Times, Flowers and Fennel For Family Planning
- Women Healers of the Middle Ages: Selected Aspects of Their History
- Scarlet Letters: Getting the History of Abortion and Contraception Right - Center for American Progress
- Reproductive Rights in the US: Timeline | HISTORY
- A Brief History of Midwifery in America | OHSU
- Historical Abortion Law Timeline: 1850 to Today
- Contraception in the prepill era
- A Timeline of Contraception | American Experience | Official Site | PBS
- Lessons from Before Roe: Will Past be Prologue? | Guttmacher Institute
- The History & Impact of Planned Parenthood
- Abortion Laws By State-Reproductive Rights Org.
- Opill: Is this new birth control pill right for you? - Harvard Health
- Why 2024 may be the most consequential election for reproductive rights in 50 years | PBS News Weekend
