The 20th century was filled with momentous events that have shaped modern-day women’s rights - from the women’s suffrage movement to the rise in female employment driven by economic necessity during WW2. This particular story focuses on the 4 crusaders that have greatly contributed to a subtle but significant movement towards female empowerment – the birth of The Pill.
Someone who stands out to me is Margaret Sanger. Sanger is by no means a perfect human being. While her activism and persistence have driven the rise of the pill from early-stage research into mainstream pharmaceuticals, she is also known for her views on eugenics - her desire to encourage procreation among the upper classes (those deemed more fit to survive) and limit it to those that do not fall under the “ideal human race”.
That being said, it was through her efforts in championing the cause that the likes of Katherine McCormick, John Rock, and of course, Gregory Pincus got together to make this reality. Nowadays, this invention has helped provide modern women options that were not as available to them in the earlier part of the 20th century. For example:
The right and ability to choose when to have children – whether earlier in life or later. For example, a woman can choose to take on a full-time (possibly demanding) career, travel or prioritize other family matters (e.g. ailing parents), and plan for a family later on.
The right and ability to choose how many children to have – a rise in the cost of raising children prompts many of today’s families to opt for having fewer of them. In the days prior to this movement, women could not exercise a similar amount of control due to a combination of the unavailability of other contraceptive options that were as easy or spontaneous to use. I would even argue that it could extend to improving the quality of children's lives where now a family can choose to have children they can sufficiently provide for and support.
The right and ability to choose not to have children at all - there are many who may argue that a life cannot be fulfilling without experiencing the joy of parenthood. The truth of the matter is, for many reasons, there are people who do not want children. Women in this category can now choose to not have children, and be fulfilled by other means.
(Aside, current population growth trends and consumption rates are not sustainable for planet earth anyway...)
While we cannot assume all women are on the pill - after all, other forms of contraception, including abstinence are now more readily available. It is important to stress that the movement gave women a choice. Throughout the following decades since The Pill was made publicly available, more movements have taken place from the sexual revolution of the 60's and 70's or the current fight against the wage gap for women in the workplace. These have only been possible because we have worked and continue to work on empowering women to make choices. The option to choose something puts people in the driver's seat of their own lives and the in power of the choices they make.
Choice is pretty powerful stuff.
The Birth of the Pill is available for purchase and download at Amazon