Reproductive Rights: Now Reserved for the Privileged
Monique Peters, Online Staff Writer
July 20, 2020
Women in Chile protesting for women’s rights
COVID has jeopardized female access to reproductive rights and compromised the sexual-health supply chain.
From menstruation to menopause, the pre-contraceptive world, meant that the female’s role was unchanged and demeaning— be fertile and have children. The introduction of reproductive rights into society— both socially and legislatively, was perhaps the most important factor in remodelling this role. Finally, after centuries of tumult, the decision to have a child has fallen into the hands of the child-bearer, and not of church leaders, or legislators. These rights were once restricted to the Western world, when globalization surged— it meant access to reproductive rights did as well, allowing millions of women to welcome a life of autonomy. COVID-19, however, has placed these new-found liberties into question, because, as it continues to spread, it pushes the healthcare system to its limits. These limits often mean that in an attempt to curb viral transmission, the system deprioritized non-emergent sectors of health (those that do not tend to cases which require medical treatment within 2-24 hours), one of which has been female reproductive health. It goes beyond healthcare— mere stock access to sexual health products has been sacrificed in recent months, as limited access to cargo transportation has broken the “sexual-health supply chain”.
The dismissal, and pushback, against reproductive rights, even without the looming threat of a pandemic, is not novel to the modern world. In 1916, the infamous Margaret Sanger spent 30 days in jail after opening the first birth control clinic in Brooklyn. Similarly, after its introduction to the United States in the 1960s, the pill was a feared symbol of female promiscuity. Despite being demeaned for decades, the paradox is clear— the pill was and is one of the most liberating inventions of the modern world— going on to animate a full-fledged women’s movement in the US starting in the 1970s. Since the pill’s introduction, it has averted millions of abortions, maternal deaths, and unintended pregnancies, and consistently improved the quality of life for women around the world.
Taking contraception’s vibrant history into account, the COVID-19 pandemic becomes particularly concerning. Not only does it decrease access to contraceptive options, but it particularly affects already marginalized women. Many of these women had previously lacked information, resources, and access to quality health care or social services, but now this need is being exacerbated. Simultaneously, anti-abortion groups and many governments have decided to exploit the pandemic to deny access — easily pushing back decades of progress.
In Nigeria, DKT International, the largest world provider of family planning around the world, has been running into shortages of contraceptive options in its local warehouse. DKT’s struggles directly highlight how fragile the global supply chain is, and makes one question why an essential service, such as reproductive-health commodities, are left so vulnerable.
Medical workers around the world have also noticed the shift. Doctors without Borders recently reported that while COVID-19 has brought suffering everywhere, its impact has not been shared equally. Many staff have seen women and girls disproportionately bear the effects of COVID. They’ve stated that access to sexual and reproductive health services, including safe abortion have been severely sidelined and compromised. In response, The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, “All countries must strike a fine balance between protecting health, minimizing economic and social disruption, and respecting human rights”. This call to action by one of the world’s most trusted public health agencies, demonstrates both the importance and the urgency of addressing female reproductive health in the midst of the pandemic.
Even pre-COVID, the world’s support for reproductive rights was lacking. With over 14 million teenage girls giving birth every year as a result of rape and unwanted pregnancy, and 47,000 pregnant women dying due to unsafe abortions.For centuries, women have placed their health in the hands of male-dominated positions of government, they’ve been forgotten, and their rights have been ridiculed by everything from religion to politics. It’s not a matter of if women deserve these rights, but rather when will the world recognize they do. The lack of general public concern or government advocacy leads one to question: do political elites believe in women’s reproductive rights? Or, do they view them as a privilege that can be ignored when other challenges arise?”