Comstock Law of 1873 and Birth Control
Woman of this day and age have so many reliable options to choose from when they are deciding on the birth control method that is right for them. Today women can go on the pill, have a birth control shot, called the Depo shot, female condoms, and contraceptive rings that are placed into the vagina. Birth control was not always available to woman in the United States. This paper will be discussing the Comstock Law of 1873, which was signed by President Grant.
During the colonial period women did not have effective methods of birth control. Women during that time had about six children; with that amount of children it was hard to pursue their own ambitions. There were also many deaths that occurred among women during child birth. There was a decline in the amount of children being born into a family during this time. “ By the end of the 19th century, many Americans viewed sex as a reflection of love, in contrast to the predominant colonial attitude that sex was a utilitarian, procreative enterprise, a means of having children” (Jansson, 2009). People wanted to blame the decrease in child bearing on the use of contraceptives.
Birth control is defined as various ways used to prevent pregnancy from occurring. Birth control has been a concern for humans for thousands of years. The first contraception was a device that was placed in the vagina to prevent the sperm of a man from fertilizing a woman’s egg. Other methods of birth control that were used in the vagina were sea sponges. Sea sponges were mixtures of crocodile dung and honey, quinine, rock salt and alum. Although women during this time weren’t very interested in having a lot of children; some women didn’t worry too much because back then a lot of babies died at birth. They felt they needed to have many children just for a few to survive. In the early 1800 's death rates began to drop and people began to show concern for controlling births (Answers Corporation, 2011).
Condoms have been around
During the colonial period women did not have effective methods of birth control. Women during that time had about six children; with that amount of children it was hard to pursue their own ambitions. There were also many deaths that occurred among women during child birth. There was a decline in the amount of children being born into a family during this time. “ By the end of the 19th century, many Americans viewed sex as a reflection of love, in contrast to the predominant colonial attitude that sex was a utilitarian, procreative enterprise, a means of having children” (Jansson, 2009). People wanted to blame the decrease in child bearing on the use of contraceptives.
Birth control is defined as various ways used to prevent pregnancy from occurring. Birth control has been a concern for humans for thousands of years. The first contraception was a device that was placed in the vagina to prevent the sperm of a man from fertilizing a woman’s egg. Other methods of birth control that were used in the vagina were sea sponges. Sea sponges were mixtures of crocodile dung and honey, quinine, rock salt and alum. Although women during this time weren’t very interested in having a lot of children; some women didn’t worry too much because back then a lot of babies died at birth. They felt they needed to have many children just for a few to survive. In the early 1800 's death rates began to drop and people began to show concern for controlling births (Answers Corporation, 2011).
Condoms have been around
References: Answer Corporation. 2011. Retrieved 3/20/2011 from, http://www.answers.com/topic/how-did-the-birth-control-movement-get-started Cactus Rose of the Wild Rose Press. Tuesday 2/3/2009. The Comstock Law of 1873. Retrieved 3/19/2011 from, http://twrpcatusrose.blogspot.com/2009/02/comstock-law-of-1873.html. Farlex. 2008. The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 3/20/2011 from, http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/comstock+laws. Jansson, Bruce. (2008). The reluctant welfare state: engaging history to advance social work practice in contemporary society. Brooks Cole Pub Co. Lewis, Johnson Jone. Margaret Sanger. Retrieved 3/21/2011 from, http://womenshistory.about.com/od/sangermargaret/p/margaret_sanger.htm