Women's Reproductive Rights Movement Analysis

As history has shown us, the mid twentieth century was a time for inspirational and instrumental societal change within the United States. Not only did we have the civil rights movement—a movement that peacefully and strategically fought for the rights and equality of African Americans—but we also had other social movements, such as the women’s reproductive rights movement, which was a movement that fearlessly fought for reproductive rights and overall equality for the women of the United States. Unfortunately, however, as will be discussed in the paragraphs that follow, while the reproductive rights that were acquired were originally intended to benefit all women, due to the nation’s (and white feminists’) racial and classed biases at the
Interestingly enough, however, their fruition took place not simply to be a part of the movement, but rather to provide a necessary voice of input for Latinas, whom were often left out of the conversation when it came to discussing reproductive health and rights for “all” women. As was explained in the article, “The Colour of Feminism: White Feminists and Race in the Women's Liberation Movement,” written by Natalie Thomlinson, “Unable to look beyond the concerns of their own white, middle-class constituency, white feminists from the era are charged with an ignorance and apathy towards the needs of Black women and a complete failure to engage with the racism of the state in which they lived and were a part.” In other words, due to the political and social contexts in relation to race at the time, those at the forefront of the movement were white middle class women, which undoubtedly meant that only their reproductive health concerns were being discussed and addressed. Seeing that previous waves of feminism have granted them, more or less, the right to vote, have an education, and have equal pay for equal work, the white middle class women at the forefront felt that acquiring and securing their right to an abortion would be the next logical step to fully liberate themselves from the constraints of gender oppression. Unfortunately, however, because often times these white middleclass women were privileged with wealth, income stability, and access to resources (just to name a few), they failed to acknowledge that the reproductive rights movement should be more inclusive, representative, and holistic and should expand far greater than merely acquiring the right to an