ISSUES FACING WOMEN,

TODAY AND YESTERDAY

Birth control and Abortion

Hayley Goertzen
Hayley Goertzen “Yesterday & Today”: Birth Control and Abortion

Introduction

I chose to write about birth control and abortion for my term paper because I feel it is

an interesting and controversial issue that does affect women’s day-to-day life, this topic is still

relevant today and still subject to public intrigue. To me, it is baffling to think that that

women’s reproductive rights are even up for debate so I felt it would be an interesting subject

for me to dive into and learn more about. There are

many different types of birth control, both hormonal

and non-hormonal, such as IUD’s, pills, injection,

patches and more. However, ‘the pill’ remains the most

common form of birth control (2). I interviewed both my mother 47-year-old mother, Allison,

and my 72-year-old grandmother, Lesley, to gain more insight and a timeline to compare the

societal and female view of birth control and abortions every 20 years or so.

Yesterday

Forms of birth control has been around for thousands of years, but more recently the

first contraceptive pill became FDA-approved in the 1960’s and became legal in Canada in 1969

(4). It wasn’t until 1992 that there was the approval of a second contraceptive option for

women, the shot Depo-Provera, then in 1998 the “morning after pill” became available. By

2002 there were many new forms of birth control being developed for women and released for

public use, from the patch to IUD’s (3).

Hayley Goertzen “Yesterday & Today”: Birth Control and Abortion

My grandmother, Lesley, was a teenager during the 60’s

and my mother, Allison, during the 80’s, so I felt that

interviewing both of them gave me a good comparison

because these were such different times for reproductive Lesley

and women’s rights.

When conducting my interviews, I asked both Allison and Lesley

the same questions and then at the end asked them to divulge any

information they thought was relevant to birth control and abortion

from they’re teens and early 20’s. The some of interview questions

Allison were: 1 How publicly known was birth control/abortion, 3 how easy was

it to access birth control and to get an abortion, 4 was sex education taught in schools, 5 how

was pre-martial sex viewed socially, 6 were social support services available for women, 7 were

women allowed to make the choice of getting an abortion vs the parents or significant other.

When asking each person the questions I noticed that they’re answers were quite

different and that things changed drastically between the 1960’s and the 1980’s. When asking

the first question Allison said that “Birth control was known and ‘the pill’ was prescribed but

under 16 you required permission from the parents who could also access the records” …

“Abortions were available through the clinic in Toronto owned by Morgentaler and that made

access difficult if you didn’t live in Toronto because you had no easy way to get there and when

you called for an appointment there would be long distance phone records”; when asked the

same question Lesley said “I knew nothing about birth control and it was extremely difficult if

women wanted an abortion too because there were no clinics to get either”. In response to
Hayley Goertzen “Yesterday & Today”: Birth Control and Abortion

question four Allison said “Sex-ed was taught in high schools but it was more basic human

anatomy rather then talk of safe sex” where as Lesley said that “it was not taught in schools at

all”. Another example of this difference in twenty years is when asked about social support

services, in the 1980’s Allison said that “there were no real support services outside of your

family doctor, no clinics or public health nurses”; Lesley also said “there were no social support

services and you couldn’t even talk to a doctor about it because of the judgement and they

would most likely tell your parents”. The twenty years cause quite a difference going from

there being no knowledge or clinics and receiving judgement, to there being access to birth

control, abortions and even sex education, although it was limited, people could still gain some

basic knowledge.

While interviewing my mother, she mentioned the name of a doctor, named Henry

Morgentaler, who began fighting against Canada’s abortion

law in 1967. Morgentaler opened his first abortion clinic in

Montreal 1969 when the government made abortions legal

under restricted conditions, abortions were only to be

performed if the pregnancy would endanger the women’s

health or life, however the abortion Morgentaler would

often perform were illegal. He was charged with unlawful

medical procedures and sentenced to 18 months in prison, but was Time Magazine Cover 1967

released after 10 months when the case was dismissed. In 1983 he opened a clinic in Toronto,

which suffered an arson attack, was raided by police and then closed for a short time after it

was thought to have violated c. 251 of the criminal code. The clinic was reopened in 1984 and
Hayley Goertzen “Yesterday & Today”: Birth Control and Abortion

Morgentaler continued going in and out of court until 1988 when the Supreme Court lifted the

abortion law. In 1992 a firebomb destroyed the Toronto clinic but he did not stop fighting for

reproductive rights even after his heart bypass in 2006 he was still involved in surgeries until his

death on May 29, 2013. Henry Morgentaler received awards for his efforts in women’s and

reproductive rights (1).

Today

Many thought that these fundamental human right of having control over our

bodies was done being disputed, and up until recently the matter of women’s reproductive

rights had been much more settled, until President Donald Trump was elected. Now women in

the USA are now opting for getting long term birth control options in order to protect their

bodies from Trump’s outrageous plan to defund Planned

Parenthood or allowing Planned Parenthood to continue – if

they get rid of abortions (5). The demand for long term

contraceptive options, such as IUD’s, in the USA has increased

by 900% since Donald Trump was elected president (6), these long-term options can cost

upwards of 1000$ USD (7). In Canada it isn’t much cheaper for birth control if you pay for them

out right, when I took the pill it cost 25$ a month and when I got my IUD it costed 500$ CAN.

However, in Ontario if you cannot afford to pay for the any form of birth control out right, you

can go through a federally funded sexual health clinic which is free and confidential (8).

When comparing twenty years ago to today, there are many advancements and

changes. There is no longer an age limit when acquiring any form of birth control and you no
Hayley Goertzen “Yesterday & Today”: Birth Control and Abortion

longer need permission from a parent or guardian (11). In just Toronto, instead of there being

one abortion clinic or social support service available, there are over 15 clinics, these clinics

over many services from providing women with birth control to STI testing (9). In schools

across the country there is an updated form of health and sex-ed for the first time since 1998

(10), no longer relying on parents being the sole information provider for sex education or

having children find things out from the internet, this is a huge stride in the right direction for

understand and accepting birth control, sex, abortions and more. Teen pregnancy has been

decreasing over the last 25 years (12) and women are being judged far less now for teen,

unmarried or unplanned pregnancy.

Birth Control and I

People often misunderstand why women go on birth control at such a young age, it’s

not just to protect yourself from getting pregnant, but to help control you menstrual cycle and

the side effects of it. When my mother went on birth control at age 16, she didn’t discuss it

with her parents or her family doctor before going on it. She went to a walk-in clinic and

received her prescription, her parents never knew she was on birth control and they ‘the talk’

about sex in school or as a family. Comparatively, I first went on ‘the pill’ when I was 13 years

old to help control the bad cramping I got when I was on my period. It was discussed with my

mother, my family doctor and I to ensure it was the best option for me, I didn’t even know it

was to protect against pregnancy until a year later when my doctor mentioned it to me.

Unfortunately, my doctor didn’t mention to me that you are supposed to take periodic breaks

from being on the pill as it can lead to health issues after extended use. After having been on
Hayley Goertzen “Yesterday & Today”: Birth Control and Abortion

the pill for 6 years I suffered from a complex migraine, which is a fluctuation of blood flow to

your brain causing stroke like symptoms. Unfortunately, the only forms of birth control I was

taught about in school was ‘the pill’ and condoms, so I had to look into other birth control

options myself. After researching better birth control options, I now have an IUD, this is a much

better long term option for myself and my health. Having been through the negative side

effects of birth control it makes me happy to see that the Ontario government it’s changing the

way sex education is taught and delivered in schools.

In conclusion, many things have happened in the fight for women’s reproductive rights

but it isn’t over yet. There are those who still are apposed to abortion and birth control,

believing that they should have the right to decide what women to with their bodies or that we

should not be taught sex-education. Having a proper sexual education in schools and social

support clinic’s is vital, as well as having access to birth control and abortions. The difference

between forty or twenty years ago and now is massive, hopefully our society will continue to

fight for reproductive rights because women should have the right over their bodies.
Hayley Goertzen “Yesterday & Today”: Birth Control and Abortion

Reference Page

1. "About Henry Morgentaler." The Morgentaler Decision. N.p., 15 July 2016. Web. 04 Apr.

2017.

2. "Pill Remains Most Common Form of Birth Control." WebMD. WebMD, 11 Dec. 2014.

Web. 04 Apr. 2017.

3. "The History of Birth Control." Women's Health. N.p., 03 Mar. 2010. Web. 04 Apr. 2017.

4. Press, The Canadian. "Birth-control pill turns 50." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 10 May

2010. Web. 04 Apr. 2017.

5. Levintova, Hannah. "Trump Offers to Let Planned Parenthood Keep Its Funding—If It

Stops Performing Abortions." Mother Jones. N.p., 6 Mar. 2017. Web. 4 Apr. 2017.

6. Mead, Julia. "Demand for IUD's Has Skyrocketed Under Trump." The Nation. N.p., 28

Mar. 2017. Web. 04 Apr. 2017.

7. Parenthood, Planned. "How Can I Get an IUD?" Planned Parenthood. N.p., 10 Aug. 2016.

Web. 04 Apr. 2017.

8. "Sexual Health Clinic." Ontario.ca. N.p., 4 Sept. 2014. Web. 04 Apr. 2017.

9. "Sexual Health Ontario." Toronto Public Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2017.

10. "Sex Education in Ontario." Ontario.ca. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2017.

11. "Accessing Birth Control on Your Own Terms." Teen Health Source. Planned Parenthood

Toronto, n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2017.

12. "Teen Pregnancy." Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. "Teen Pregnancy."
Teen Pregnancy. N.p., 20 Mar. 2017. Web. 04 Apr. 2017.
Hayley Goertzen “Yesterday & Today”: Birth Control and Abortion