In the beginning of the 20th century, family planning as we know it today was restricted, controlled, and in some instances, unlawful. There was little to no education regarding the details of fertilization, because the cycle of ovulation was not defined until 1928 (Center for Disease Control, 1988). Additionally, all forms of contraceptives and any education regarding contraceptives were against the law (Jensen, 1981). These restrictions caused sexually active women to become pregnant often, while medicine was not advanced enough to keep these women healthy during and after childbirth. As stated by Bernard J. Turnock (2004), “In 1900, six to nine of every 1000 women died in childbirth, and one in five children died during the first 5 years
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The first notable case is that of Griswold vs. Connecticut in 1965, which argued that denying information about family planning and contraception to married couples violated the Constitutional right to marital privacy. Estelle Griswold was the current executive director of the Planned Parenthood in Connecticut at that time, and along with their primary physician, Dr. C. Lee Buxton, was accused of providing contraceptive methods to couples. Though they were at first found guilty and fined, Griswold and Buxton brought the case to the United States Supreme Court which ultimately ruled that denying contraceptive methods or education regarding family planning to married couples violated the right to marital …show more content…
Casey (1992), the Supreme Court upheld the ruling of Roe vs. Wade that women had the right to abortion, while changing the standard of abortion rights from regarding “fetal viability” to “undue burden” on the state. This case, in which the plaintiffs included five abortion clinics as well as several licensed physicians in Pennsylvania, also argued that there were five regulations regarding abortion that were unconstitutional. These regulations included prior informed consent from the woman based on information presented by all physicians performing abortion regarding the risks of the procedure, the required signature of the woman’s spouse consenting to the procedure, parental consent of minors regarding the procedure, the definition of a medical emergency which requires immediate abortion in order to save the life of the woman, as well as reporting requirements of all abortion clinics. The Supreme Court upheld all of these restrictions except the spousal consent, which was ruled unconstitutional.
In looking at the long term effects of family planning on the general public, several studies were conducted, starting in 1977 and repeated in 1981, 1990, and 1996 (Frost et. all, 2008) to determine how many women utilized family panning and birth control clinics across the United States, and analyze the effects these services have had on population control, the abortion rate, and pregnancy related costs. The results
The first notable case is that of Griswold vs. Connecticut in 1965, which argued that denying information about family planning and contraception to married couples violated the Constitutional right to marital privacy. Estelle Griswold was the current executive director of the Planned Parenthood in Connecticut at that time, and along with their primary physician, Dr. C. Lee Buxton, was accused of providing contraceptive methods to couples. Though they were at first found guilty and fined, Griswold and Buxton brought the case to the United States Supreme Court which ultimately ruled that denying contraceptive methods or education regarding family planning to married couples violated the right to marital …show more content…
Casey (1992), the Supreme Court upheld the ruling of Roe vs. Wade that women had the right to abortion, while changing the standard of abortion rights from regarding “fetal viability” to “undue burden” on the state. This case, in which the plaintiffs included five abortion clinics as well as several licensed physicians in Pennsylvania, also argued that there were five regulations regarding abortion that were unconstitutional. These regulations included prior informed consent from the woman based on information presented by all physicians performing abortion regarding the risks of the procedure, the required signature of the woman’s spouse consenting to the procedure, parental consent of minors regarding the procedure, the definition of a medical emergency which requires immediate abortion in order to save the life of the woman, as well as reporting requirements of all abortion clinics. The Supreme Court upheld all of these restrictions except the spousal consent, which was ruled unconstitutional.
In looking at the long term effects of family planning on the general public, several studies were conducted, starting in 1977 and repeated in 1981, 1990, and 1996 (Frost et. all, 2008) to determine how many women utilized family panning and birth control clinics across the United States, and analyze the effects these services have had on population control, the abortion rate, and pregnancy related costs. The results