Gender In Britain Flashcards
Detail the abortion act of late 60s
1967 - David Steel
serious risk to life or health - risk of handicapped child - if capacity of mother would be severely overstrained - woman is defective, underage or rape victim
abortion treated as a medical rather than a social issue
Complete quote from Stella Browne ‘freedom of choice…’
When did she say it?
‘Freedom of choice and deliberate intention are necessary for [women] in their sexual relations and their maternity, if they are to make anything out of their status and opportunities’ - 1935
Infant mortality gradually declines at the beginning of the twentieth century, what happens to maternal mortality?
Remains fixed at 5 deaths in 1000 - 14% from unsafe abortions
What does Labour Party’s chief women’s officer say about sex?
‘Sex should not be dragged into politics’
When is the Infant Life Preservation Act? what does it say? How do you expand on this?
Infant Life Preservation Act - 1929 - Legal abortion to save mother - what counts as a threat to the mother? - Case Law only supports physical threat rather than psychological
Give two examples on ambiguous attitudes to when life began and what constituted abortion…
Women bringing on periods before ‘quickening’
Accused abortionist argues if pregnancy was terminated ‘by some means other than a sharp instrument, then it ought not to be called abortion.’
How were women excluded from discussions of abortion
Physical exclusion from public sphere
Linguistic exclusion - ‘abortion’ and ‘miscarriage’ are technical terms which are distanced from women’s bodies.
What does Orwell say about abortion and when?
‘Theoretically illegal’ but ‘looked upon as a peccadillo’ - 1944
Complete quote from Professor Sydney Smith ‘the modern woman…’
When said?
‘The modern woman had her own point of view…she had control over her own body, and if she was not inclined to go through the trouble and inconvenience of childbearing there was no moral right to compel her to do so’ 1932
When was ALRA founded and with what Key principles?
1936
Women should have deciding vote over abortion as it effects them most
Abortion a necessary precondition for full emancipation of women
How many women have abortions each year during 1930s?
90,000
When is Birkett committee? Detail…
1939
Find 15% of maternal deaths due to abortion
10 men, 5 women sit on committee, all m-c - ALRA accuses of class bias
Always treated as a medical and legal problem
Recommend no change
When and what was the Bourne Trial?
1938
Bourne deliberately provokes trial in order to expand the remit of when abortion could be performed under the law
Building on Infant Life Preservation Act - Bourne argues the serious risk to mother is psychological rather than physical
ALRA argues it is not enough and that abortion ought to be allowed for economic reasons also
Fact on usage of the pill
By 1989, 80% of women born 1950-59 had used pill as a contraceptive method
What does 1967 Family Planning Act recommend?
Encourages local authorities to encourage contraception - no restrictions on age or marital status
Complete quote ‘the best form of oral contraceptive…’
Said by who?
‘The best form of oral contraceptive is, as it has always been, the perfectly simple word ‘no’’ - MP Elaine Kellet Bowman
How do oppositional arguments to abortion change
Move from arguments based on morality to ones based on medical side effects and spread of VD rather than chastity
Who says their fear of high immigrant birth rates led to their support for free birth control services?
Conservative chairman of Birmingham Health Committee
When is the double standard removed?
1923 Matrimonial Causes Act
When is the first matrimonial causes act and what does it do?
1857 - creates divorce court at Westminster Offers divorce (subject to the double standard), judicial separation and property protection orders
What does the 1937 Matrimonial causes Act do?
Expands grounds for divorce to include cruelty and desertion
