Catalogue Number
NMLH.1993.33.1
Object Name
Pamphlet
Title
'A Common-Sense Treatise on Birth Control by Margaret Graham. "To be or not to be, that is the question" - Hamlet.'
Place
Bristol
People
Margaret V. Graham (author), Marie Stopes
Description
A green book with the title 'A Common-Sense Treatise on Birth Control by Margaret Graham' printed on the front. Below the title is the quote "To be or not to be, that is the question" from Hamlet, and a sticker advertising the shop selling the book, Blake's Medical Stores of Bristol.
Reproductive rights and family planning has long been a major issue for the women's rights movement. While hormonal contraception to prevent pregnancy was not available until the mid 20th century, before this, women's rights activists campaigned to educate women about other ways they could choose to plan if or when to have children, how to avoid becoming pregnant while being sexually active, and in some cases how to access abortion to end an unplanned pregnancy.
Pregnancy is an important women's health issue, as the impacts of pregnancy and childbirth can take a substantial toll on a person's body, and can in some cases lead to death from complications associated with pregnancy. Choosing the number of children a woman had, and when, allowed women to access employment which often had a pregnancy bar - until the late 20th century, becoming pregnant was an automatic end to careers in medicine or education. It also allowed families better control of their finances by not feeling forced to continue a pregnancy if their circumstances meant they could not afford to raise a child. However, reproductive rights proponents also often engaged in eugenics - a belief system which discouraged different types of people from having any children if they were deemed to be socially undesirable, including advocating for poor people and disabled people to be sterilised and prevented from choosing to have children.
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