The History of Reproductive Rights in the United States

Since the late 19th century, women’s control over their reproductive lives in the United States has been a topic of public debate and political struggle.

These stakes became especially urgent following the US Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision overturning Roe v.

Wade .

This course situates that moment within the longer history of women’s reproductive lives in the United States.

We examine changing ideas about women’s sexuality from the 18th century to the present, followed by the histories of contraception and abortion and their increasing public regulation by the late 19th century.

The course then turns to the early 20th century, including Emma Goldman’s advocacy and Margaret Sanger’s opening of the nation’s first birth control clinic in 1916.

Students will explore how women’s reproductive lives were medically, legally, and religiously regulated throughout the 20th century, alongside the feminist movements that challenged those controls.

We conclude with recent court decisions and the evolving future of reproductive rights in the United States.