Born a “Birth-Giver”: The Constant Denial of Women’s Rights to Maternity

Written by Mimi Jiang

Edited by Nancy Zhu

Design by Rakshita S.

Throughout history, time after time, women's bodies have been violated, their rights to sexuality and reproduction removed, and their roles in society objectified to the extent in which they were no longer seen as equals, but rather as beings that were less-than, that were weak and deserving of scrutiny because we were too weak to say “no.”

It has been a tireless journey of fighting for our rights, and though society is logically planned to progress as the years go by, the utter disappointment we have seen in present day politicians and government systems that have failed to protect women and leverage them the same way they would a man. 

The humanity of our species, the dignity, and the morality of us as individuals has deteriorated almost entirely and that leaves us with concerns as to what exactly it is we’re doing wrong. 

From the criminalization of abortion to decisions like Roe v. Wade, the phases seem to change unpredictably. However, recent events, such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the Greenland birth control scandal, highlight the continuation of challenges women face in grounding control over their bodies. Despite the common misconception of a progressive society, these case studies uncover the wretched truth: women’s reproductive rights continue to face constant threats. 

Case Study 1: The Overturning of Roe v Wade 2022 

According to Reproductive Rights, there were originally no abortion laws at all in colonial America and during the early days of the republic. The practice in itself was seen quite differently compared to modern-day anti-abortionists, who considered the practice as a form of murder. Back then, the practice was frowned upon by church officials, but when identified was labeled as an illicit practice or as premarital sex. 

In terms of Early abortion, women who didn’t possess the desire to conceive had the option of taking herbs like savin, tansy, and pennyroyal– common kitchen garden herbs that have abortifacient properties. Emmenagogues are herbs that are said to increase menstrual flow, therefore, deemed unsafe for use during existing pregnancies. This herb itself was also a common abortion tactic. 

The first instance of the criminalization and essentially the alienation of abortion occurred in 1821 with the first law codified in Connecticut which stated that it would punish “any person who provided or took poison or any other destructive substances with the intent to cause the miscarriage of any woman.”   

Horatio Storer, anti-abortionist and surgeon argued that abortion was immoral and caused “derangement” in women as he illustrated it to be majorly contrasting to nature. In 1967, abortion was considered a felony in almost every state, with very few provisions for alternatives. 

This policy loosened in the 1970s and in 1973 the Supreme Court settled the issue with two landmark rulings, and Roe vz. Wade made terminating a pregnancy a legal right nationwide. 

In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court made a controversial decision to overturn the landmark ruling of Roe v. Wade, which signalled a significant issue as it would not be able to safeguard individual rights and fufill this duty. The decision led to not only the abandonment of 50 years of legal precedent, but according to Reproductive Rights, also marked the first instance in the nation’s history where the Supreme Court denied a fundamental right and revoked the laws surrounding it.

Justice Clarence Thomas, a main figure in this decision, went beyond the immediate case and suggested that other landmark rulings, such as those providing the access to contraception and recognizing same-sex relationships and marriage, should be reconsidered and potentially revoked. This shift in the legal system erupted a sequence of consequences, and majorly shook the platform of reproductive rights in the United States. 

The consequences of overturning Roe v. Wade were impactful and widespread. Immediately, countless U.S. states took action to ban abortion entirely. This radical change led to immense changes in women’s access to reproductive healthcare across the country. 

States where abortion remained legal, such as Illinois and Kansas, pushed to navigate and work around the crudeness of this law and made efforts to expand appointment availability for disadvantaged women from other states. There were numerous attempts to hire additional staff and enhance the infrastructure of existing facilities. The only alternative to the ban was childbirth, which according to american.edu, posed a 14 times higher risk of death compared to abortion. Doctors who performed abortions in states where the act was outlawed faced hardships, but they still could turn to a potential avenue that allowed them to continue providing care in places where abortion remained legal, ensuring that women in these areas and those who came still had access to these essential services. 

All in all, the lack of legalization affected women’s access to reproductive healthcare immensely. Abortion bans in this case extended beyond simple surgical procedures and included medication abortion, further limiting options for women who sought safe and legal termination methods. Emergency contraception was also a part of these restrictions, which further cut out choices for women facing unplanned pregnancies. 

Case Study 2:

According to BBC, on the 3rd of October a group of 67 women from Greenland held a campaign attempting to seek compensative amount of 300,000 kroner each from the Danish government after they had involuntarily enforced birth control mechanisms onto countless young women. 

It was noted from records in national archives that between 1966 and 1970 at least 4,500 women including teenage girls were fitted with coils inside the wombs of women to limit birth rates and pregnancy among the indigenous population, an act that can be understood as ethnically or racially motivated. Itrauterine devices, also known as IUDs were fitted into these women, some as young as 13 without their consentual knowledge all together. 

The lives of these women were soon ruined as women went on in their lives and soon found out their right to fertility was taken away. One woman had discovered that she had been inserted wiht a coil without her consent when she struggled to get pregnant in 2009 and another told BBC that she had been injected with a contraceptive in 2014 without her acknowledgement. The harm goes way beyond that of an issue with the violation of human rights, but it also goes to show the practical and medical harms imposed on these young women. In some cases, the devices fitted into these girls’ bodies had been unfitted causing health implications and infertility even after discovery later on. 

Naja Lyberth was one of the first women to speak out against this discovery in 2017. She was a social activist who used Facebook as a communication platform and formed group discussions online to support other women with similar or undiscovered experiences. 

She had been fitted with the coil when she was just 13, “I was afraid. I couldn’t tell my parents,” She says. “I was a virgin. I had never even kissed a boy.” 

The trauma Naja expressed shows how violating this medical procedure really was for all women and young girls who tragically found out they had experiences alike. She described her vivid memories of the procedure itself, describing the “doctors inw hite coats” and “metal things where you should spread your legs.” She described it as having “knives” inside her and ultimately was unable to communicate this to her parents until later on. 

This case study in of itself proves the corruption coming from government officials and the state who have shown that they are willing to do anything so long as these decisions are aligned with their interests. 

Conclusion: 

Throughout history, time after time, women's bodies have been violated, their rights to sexuality and reproduction removed, and their standings in society belittled until seen as slivers of nothing. 

It is absurd to think that even in the progressive west that anti-abortion policies are being made, women are being given contraceptives without their knowledge, and little girls are being fitted with coils without even having known what it means to be fertile. With ongoing protests fighting the oppression of the patriarchy, women will continue to fight and attempt to stand strong while hoping the international community will offer global support. 

Stand with these women! 

Bibliography:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63049387