Summary and Reflection on an Article History Essay

Birth Control among Jewish Women
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The article by Klapper (2013) examines the vital roles played by Jewish women during the birth control movement. During the early 20th century, the birth control movement which was a social reform movement swept through the US to increase the availability of contraception in the region using education and legalization. The movement was primarily spearheaded by women who sort to address childbirth hardships and the problems of self-induced abortions. Jewish women during the birth control movement served not only as activists and consumers but also distributors. The article identifies that 1916 was a pivotal year for Jewish women in the movement. During that year, the first birth control clinic was opened in the US was closed almost immediately by law enforcement. However, in the short spell, majority of the patients/women who flocked the establishment were immigrants, with many of them being Jewish. As was the case in America during that period, the plights of minority groups and the disadvantaged including problems with childbirth were often swept under the carpet. Nonetheless, two Yiddish plays that premiered in 1916 were phenomenal in highlighting on birth control. According to Klapper (2013), “the production of at least two plays on the subject of birth control in 1916 dramatized the importance of the issue within the American Jewish community”. The plays showcased the concerns Jewish women had on child bearing in an impoverished American society.
Additionally, the article notes that Jewish women were highly enthusiastic about limiting the number of children they had even before the birth control movement gained significant traction in 1916. It is indicated that while Italian women averaged 7 children, Jewish women limited themselves to just 4. As such, it was no surprise that they were highly supportive and at the forefront of the birth control movement. The article shares on how Jewish political radicals such as Emma Goldman delivered lectures in Yiddish to large crowds of Jewish women until she was eventually arrested and imprisoned. Other notable women who took center stage in enlightening women about contraceptives include Rose Pastor Stokes and Margaret Sanger. The former is renowned for the pl...