My Body

Young the Giant has this incredible song by the same name. It’s a great workout track, and an even better way to start the morning. But this post isn’t going to be about a song (though I highly recommend listening to it). No, this post is going to be about

My body.

And specifically, who it belongs to.

First, let’s talk about contraceptives. Always a fun topic. It has been outlawed, banned, and socially disapproved of since it was invented. The Comstock Laws in the U.S. prohibited the production, sale and even use of contraception as early as the 1870s. Nonetheless, the industry still grew as the demand continued to rise. Determined individuals like Margaret Sanger dedicated their lives to keeping clinics and stores that offered contraceptives open and available to the public. Many were arrested and jailed, but time after time they kept fighting. Sanger was one of the first pioneers in human birth control research. She developed the first birth control pill approved of by the U.S. FDA in 1960. This development helped women become more independent than ever before, as they were able to choose when -- or if -- they wanted to have kids and when they wanted to join the workforce. We were given a choice. But this ability to choose sparked anger and controversy. In 1965 the U.S. Supreme Court found itself handling the landmark case of Griswold v. Connecticut, which ruled in favor of married couples having the right to use birth control. The rest of the women, however, were still denied this right.

It took seven more years for every women to gain the right to use birth control in the Supreme Court case Baird v. Eisenstadt. It took another year after that to guarantee women the right to their own body and their own medical decisions through the extension of the right to privacy. This was the case that allowed women to have an abortion without politicians breathing down their backs. This was Roe v. Wade. And yes, this is the same one that the current Supreme Court is threatening to overturn.

It has been quite the fight to get to where we are today. It’s taken centuries of research and protest, and millions of supporters to get us here. But it only takes the decision of five justices to turn us all back to what we started with: a lack of choice.

Why write about this? Well, it seems like now more than ever we need to have this discussion of ownership and choice. Especially considering the newly conservative makeup of the US Supreme Court. If you don’t agree with me, that’s fine. I respect your decisions. It is your body. It is your choice.

So please respect my body, and my choice. And respect those who may make choices that go against your own. Because it isn’t your body to control. You can be pro-life. I’m not asking you to change your values. But be pro-life with your own body. Let people make their own choices about our own bodies and our own lives.

If you want to learn more about this issue, here are a few resources to check out:

http://www.prochoiceohio.org/what-is-choice/abortion/supreme-court-positions.shtml

https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/issues/abortion/roe-v-wade

http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/health-info/a-brief-history-of-birth-control/