Government Control of the Female Body

1893 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The development of women's rights

Government Control of the Female Body

Internationally, issues revolving around the female body and reproduction are extremely controversial. For a woman, her body is a very private matter. At the same time, however, a woman's body and her reproduction rights are the center of attention in many public debates. Several questions regarding women's reproductive rights remain unanswered. How much control do women have over their bodies? What kind of rules can be morally imposed upon women? And who controls the bodies of women? Although the public continues to debate these topics, certain conclusions can been made concerning women and their reproductive rights. An undeniable fact is that government has a large degree of control over female reproductive organs. All around the world, time and time again, several national governments have implemented policies, enacted laws, and denied women control over their reproductive organs. Several governments have crossed the border between intimate and public matters concerning women's reproductive organs, by making laws about contraceptives, abortion, and family planning programs.

Perhaps the most discrete manner in which government intervenes in women's reproductive rights is through family planning. Several governments have spent billions of dollars annually to implement family planning programs. Family planning includes sex, contraceptive, and parenting education. Although many family planning programs are viewed as a method of education, some governments have used the programs as a means of controlling the bodies of women and their nation's population.

In Indonesia, for instance, The Agency for International Development (AID) reported that the Indonesian family planning program d...

... middle of paper ...

...ns and the ethical and moral beliefs behind the issue will again challenge the control of many governments in their role in human reproduction.

Work Cited

Abenethy, Virginia. "Abortion." The World Book Encyclopaedia. 1996 ed.

Emmens, Carol. The Abortion Controversy. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987.

Hartmann, Betsy. Reproductive Rights and Wrongs. New York: Harper & Row Publications, 1987.

Hogue, Carol. "Birth Control." Groiler Multimedia Encyclopaedia CD-ROM. Groiler Interactive. 1997.

Lader, Lawrence. RU486: The Pill That Could End the Abortion Wars. New York: Addison-Wesley Inc., 1991.

Lew, Patrick. Personal Interview. 10 April. 1998

Lovenduski, Joni and Outshoorn, Joyce. The New Politics of Abortion. London: Sage Publications, 1986.

Tyrer, Louise B. "Abortion." Groiler Multimedia Encyclopaedia. CD-ROM Groiler Interactive. 1997.

Show More
Related

  • Abortion In California

    706 Words  | 2 Pages

    Abortion is a controversial topic in today’s society as many opinions from different social groups on whether it should be legal or not create the big question: should the government be able to take away a woman’s reproductive right if it is to protect a fetus? In the United States particularly, much of the debate since the 1970s has focused on the Supreme Court case Roe v Wade, in which the court proclaimed women's’ rights to abortion but declared that the states could limit and regulate the procedure. That means that currently, the state of California allows abortions, but many groups against abortion, mostly called “pro-lifers,” still try to fight against it and want it banned. Women have a right to their own body and should

    Read More

  • Abortion, Public Policy, & Texas

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    Over the course of the last century, abortion in the Western hemisphere has become a largely controversial topic that affects every human being. In the United States, at current rates, one in three women will have had an abortion by the time they reach the age of 45. The questions surrounding the laws are of moral, social, and medical dilemmas that rely upon the most fundamental principles of ethics and philosophy. At the center of the argument is the not so clear cut lines dictating what life is, or is not, and where a fetus finds itself amongst its meaning. In an effort to answer the question, lawmakers are establishing public policies dictating what a woman may or may not do with regard to her reproductive rights.

    Read More

  • Impact Of The Cold War On The World Today

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Cold War is a term developed to represent the antagonistic relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union between the mid 1940s until the end of the 1990s. The development of tension between these two countries represented two differentiating perspectives on ideological that also impacted the rest of the world. As a result, I believe the Cold War still has an impact on our world today due to the constant issue of the security dilemma as well as the current relations countries have with each other.

    Read More

  • Cold War and Its Effects

    1649 Words  | 4 Pages

    The end of the cold war signified a new era of history that has changed the entire world. The face of Europe and Asia has changed dramatically. Vast changes have been felt socially, politically, and especially economically. Also the effect the cold war had on foreign policy was paramount. The effect of these changes is not only felt across the ocean but can be felt here in America. The goal of this paper is to define what the cold war specifically was, and reflect upon the various choices throughout the world as a result of the end of the cold war.

    Read More

  • Abortion: The Impact of Federalism and the Separation of Power

    1214 Words  | 3 Pages

    The current issues concerning a woman’s right to an abortion include the debates between pro-life and pro-choice groups that promote either restrictions or extensions to a woman’s ability to receive abortions respectively, along with debate about the role that the government should play in the process of limiting or extending rights. Pro-life groups argue many points against abortion including the beliefs that life begins at conception, adoption is a viable alternative to abortion, the procedures sometimes cause medical complications, a...

    Read More

  • Roe V Wade Essay

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    Controversy and arguments that were setbacks in the ongoing battle for women’s rights, specifically the right to an abortion, were put to slight a rest with the landmark verdict of Roe v. Wade. The revolution in reproductive rights caused by Roe v. Wade evolved from a spark in the hearts of women everywhere. When women claimed their rights as humans, that was when the face of women’s equality in all aspects started to change. The case of Roe v. Wade was the official legalization of a woman’s constitutional right to get an abortion in the United States, but the aftermath of any case is what makes or breaks the future laws and regulations. Through all of the restrictions, regulations, and loopholes, Roe v. Wade’s verdict stuck and continued to

    Read More

  • Abortion in Canada

    1531 Words  | 4 Pages

    As one knows, some unwanted pregnancies could often be harmful and distressing for a woman. Women should have the right over their body to choose to sustain the fetus or not. In the past decades, women did not have their freedom of abortion in many countries of the world. There have always been controversies going on about abortion. Each individual has dissimilar views on the legality of abortion. Some people are against abortion for personal religious purposes and beliefs. For those who don’t believe in abortion, it is because they see it as killing a fetus, which is a human being. Others support abortion because they believe in women’s rights. Laws of abortion vary in each country, and abortion is not legal all over the world. It is illegal under any conditions but only permitted to save woman’s life if in countries such as Brazil, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, and Ireland. However, abortion is legal without any restrictions in countries like Canada, Albania, and Italy. It the past decades Abortion was considered as criminal act in Canada. “If an abortion was carried out without such approval, the woman was liable for imprisonment for 2 years, an...

    Read More

  • Abortion, Society, And Gender

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    Abortion is arguably the most controversial topic in all the issues revolving around reproduction. Women of all different races, classes, and religions have been practicing abortion since before the colonial era in America. The laws pertaining to abortion have changed many times, adding and removing discrepancies and stipulations throughout many years, and still to this day. The views of abortion in society during different time periods have also changed and adapted. At the time of Sarah Grosvenor’s decision to abort, the laws pertaining to abortion did not make the act fully illegal. However in years after Grosvenor’s case abortion was outlawed. The law played a minor part in women’s decisions to have an abortion, however society, and gender played the most prominent role in the decision of abortion.

    Read More

  • Late-Term Abortion is Wrong

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hinman, Lawrence. “Abortion: A Guide to the Ethical Issues.” May 13, 2010. University of San

    Read More

  • The Surrogate Mother - Womb For Rent

    1489 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 2000 the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) defined reproductive rights as "the basic rights of couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children; to have the information and means to do so; and to have the right to make decisions concerning reproduction, free of discrimination, coercion or violence."[1] Traditionally society defines reproductive rights in the context of one's being able to make decisions about his or her own reproduction; other individuals, unrelated to that person, were not considered as being involved in the decision. With the onset of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in 1978, reproductive processes have become more complicated. For example, in gestational surrogacy a surrogate mother, not genetically related to the embryo, is brought into the process of reproduction. This technique allows infertile couples to carry a child or children in the womb of a carrier, rather than in the womb of the biological mother.[2] As a result of this ethically controversial technology, society must modify its reproductive rights. In vitro fertilization (IVF) alone will not solve people's reproductive problems and protect everybody's rights. Society, therefore, must distinguish whose rights-the rights of biological parents or those of the surrogate mothers-should be protected.

    Read More

  • A Critique of On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion, by Mary Anne Warren

    1015 Words  | 3 Pages

    Warren, Mary Anne , and Mappes and D. DeGrazia. "On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion." Biomedical Ethics 4th (1996): 434-440. Print.

    Read More

  • Abortion: Women Need a Choice

    352 Words  | 1 Pages

    I believe that the government should not be able to control what a woman does with her body. By granting women the right to choose, this does not permit her to kill, but to decide what is best for all persons involved. There are many situations that show that abortion may be the best for the parents and the unborn child. Situations such as rape or incest prove that it is not the woman’s fault and not fair to the mother or the unborn child to pay for it. There are other situations such as if the mother carries a disease the can be passed on, or if the parents are unfit to raise a family at the time. Any case however, should be between the people involved and not the government.

    Read More

  • The Cold War of 1946-1991

    1713 Words  | 4 Pages

    The end of World War II did not end the disputed but unexpectedly causing the conflict between allied countries, led to an era known as the “Cold War”. Roughly lasted from the close of Second World War (1946) to the end of 1980s, this is a stage of political conflict, proxy wars and economic competition rather than military combat between the Communist represented by Soviet Union and the powers of Western world primarily United Stated. Although many times it appeared that both military forces would engaged in a major battle, turning the war into “hot”, the two sides just expressed the conflict through military coalition, arms races and technological competitions. Going through four long decades, it casted a shadow in the second half of 20th century and left a scar that still feel today.

    Read More

  • French Revolution

    631 Words  | 2 Pages

    The French Revolution began in 1789 and ended in 1792, though certain people include Napoleon’s reign as part of the revolution, stating it ended in 1804. It was a time of confusion, disorder, and bloodshed. The commoners of France decided that they were being treated unjustly and planned to overthrow their king. The French Revolution was a long and terrible war, which promoted democracy and equality for the people of France and resulted, not only in the death of Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI, but with France becoming a more liberal country. This essay will investigate causes of the French Revolution such as enlightenment ideas, taxation and economical problems, and the political system of the time. It will be shown that there is not a single direct cause for the occurrence of the French Revolution, but many different reasons of varying importance.

    Read More

  • Causes and Solutions of World Poverty

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...he second way to attempt to decrease the population is through increased active family planning programs. Especially in poor countries, it is a lot harder for women just to jump into the work force, and even harder for a poor country to become industrialized. For example, in Bangladesh, one of the world's poorest countries, birth rates have decreased from seven children per family to only 5.5. This is largely because forty percent of Bangladesh's woman now take part in some form of family planning.

    Read More

More about Government Control of the Female Body

Open Document