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  1. KEEP
  2. Theses and Dissertations
  3. Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
  4. Dismantling Legal Constraints to Contraception in the 1900s
  5. Full metadata

Dismantling Legal Constraints to Contraception in the 1900s

Full metadata

Description

In the late nineteenth century, the Comstock Act of 1873 made the distribution of contraception illegal and classified contraception as an obscenity. Reflecting the predominant attitude towards contraception at the time, the Comstock Act was the first federal anti-obscenity law that targeted contraception. However, social acceptance of birth control changed at the turn of the twentieth century. In this thesis, I analyzed legislation, advocates, and literature pertinent to that social change to report on the events leading up to the decriminalization of contraception. Because of the complexity of social history, I used legislation and court cases to track pivotal movements that reflected a change in the accessibility and acceptability of birth control. I focused on the efforts of two prominent birth control advocates, Margaret Sanger and Mary Dennett, and analyzed the impact of their efforts in that social movement. I learned that they incited court cases that questioned the validity of the Comstock Act and helped influence societal acceptance of birth control. Through my research, I discovered that the medicalization of contraception influenced its decriminalization and acceptance by society.

Date Created
2017-05
Contributors
  • Malladi, Lakshmeeramya (Author)
  • Maienschein, Jane (Thesis director)
  • O'Neil, Erica (Committee member)
  • Abboud, Alexis (Committee member)
  • School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor)
  • School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
  • Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Topical Subject
  • history
  • Reproductive Health
  • Contraception
Resource Type
Text
Extent
107 pages
Language
eng
Copyright Statement
In Copyright
Primary Member of
Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Series
Academic Year 2016-2017
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.42527
Embargo Release Date
Sun, 04/14/2019 - 01:51
Level of coding
minimal
Cataloging Standards
asu1
System Created
  • 2017-10-30 02:50:58
System Modified
  • 2021-08-11 04:09:57
  •     
  • 1 year 9 months ago
Additional Formats
  • OAI Dublin Core
  • MODS XML

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