Lab Narrative Updated

Abstract

Women have consistently fought for their right to make decisions about their own bodies and health. The San Francisco Nine is a case that doesn’t receive enough attention, but it played a crucial role in the establishment of Roe v. Wade as law in 1973. By 2025, women are more active than ever as their rights face threats from the current administration in the United States.

Introduction

Women’s reproductive rights have sparked debates for many years, focusing on issues of gender equality, personal freedom, and access to healthcare. These rights encompass access to contraception, abortion, and maternal healthcare, allowing women to make informed choices about their bodies. While there has been legal and social progress, these rights still face challenges from restrictive laws, changing political views, and moral debates.

The ability to make choices about reproduction affects almost every part of a woman’s life, including her education, career, and financial security. When these rights are limited, women, especially those from low-income and marginalized groups, suffer the most (World Health Organization, 2021). The ongoing battle for reproductive rights is not only about healthcare; it’s about equality and personal freedom. This paper looks at the historical struggle for reproductive rights, the moral arguments surrounding them, and the legal and social challenges that continue to influence the issue today.

The History of Reproductive Rights

Early Restrictions and the Fight for Birth Control

Historically, women had very little control over their reproductive choices, and access to birth control was often illegal or heavily frowned upon. In the U.S., laws like the Comstock Act of 1873 made it against the law to distribute contraceptives or share information about them (United Nations Population Fund, 2022). This law reflected the common belief that birth control promoted immorality and threatened traditional family values.

Despite these challenges, activists pushed for reproductive freedom. Margaret Sanger, a nurse and birth control supporter, argued that access to contraception was crucial for women’s independence. In 1916, she opened the first birth control clinic in the U.S., which resulted in her arrest (Beauvoir, 1949). Her efforts eventually led to the creation of Planned Parenthood, an organization that continues to provide reproductive healthcare today.

Legal progress was slow but important. In Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), the Supreme Court decided that married couples had a constitutional right to access birth control, based on the right to privacy. This right was later expanded to unmarried individuals in Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972). These landmark cases laid the groundwork for future battles over reproductive rights, including the fight for abortion access.

The Fight Over Abortion Rights

A pivotal moment in the history of reproductive rights occurred with the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade (1973), which legalized abortion across the country. The Court ruled that a woman’s right to privacy, protected by the Fourteenth Amendment, included the right to end a pregnancy (AP News, 2025). This ruling was a significant triumph for women’s rights, but it also triggered strong opposition from religious and conservative groups.

Almost right away, laws were introduced to restrict abortion access. In 1976, the Hyde Amendment prohibited the use of federal funds for abortions, making it hard for low-income women to afford the procedure (Reuters, 2025). Over the years, states implemented laws requiring waiting periods, parental consent for minors, and other barriers that made access more challenging.

In 2022, the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, allowing individual states to create their own abortion laws (Reuters, 2025). Consequently, many states quickly enacted abortion bans, forcing women to travel long distances or seek unsafe alternatives. This decision has created uncertainty around the future of reproductive rights, with the situation varying widely depending on a person’s location.

The San Francisco Nine

A significant event to consider when discussing pre-Roe history is the San Francisco Nine. This case involved nine doctors in the San Francisco area who faced legal action for performing illegal abortions. The women treated by these doctors had been exposed to Rubella, or German Measles, which carried a risk of birth defects. This case was one of the first major steps toward legalizing abortion in the United States. The decision faced community backlash, and the doctors involved were threatened with losing their medical licenses. This trial occurred in 1966, just a few years before the Roe v. Wade abortion law was established in 1973. It was a crucial early step toward states creating their own abortion laws and laid the groundwork for the passing of Roe into law.

References

• Greenhouse, Linda, and Reva B. Siegel. “Before (and After) Roe v. Wade: New Questions About Backlash.” Yale Law Journal 120, no. 8 (2011): 2028–2087.
• Nelson, Jennifer. Women of Color and the Reproductive Rights Movement. New York: NYU Press, 2003.
• Paltrow, Lynn M., and Jeanne Flavin. “Arrests of and Forced Interventions on Pregnant Women in the United States, 1973–2005: Implications for Women’s Legal Status and Public Health.” Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law 38, no. 2 (2013): 299–343.
• Reagan, Leslie J. When Abortion Was a Crime: Women, Medicine, and Law in the United States, 1867–1973. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.
• Roberts, Dorothy. Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty. New York: Vintage, 1997.
• Solinger, Rickie. Pregnancy and Power: A Short History of Reproductive Politics in America. New York: New York University Press, 2005.