Twenty-five-year-old Jane Armstrong struggled to remain conscience as she made her way to her neighbor’s house praying someone was home. The pain was excruciating, and she knew the baby was coming, and that her child was waiting for no one. She felt the explosion of blood and amniotic fluid gushing out from her body and running down her legs. She knew she was losing a lot of blood and could feel herself getting weaker and weaker. With each step she took she was certain that someone would find her baby covered in blood and afterbirth and her heart sank because she was certain that this time, she wouldn’t live to see her baby grow up.
The doctor had warned her of these back-to-back pregnancies, and it seemed to Jane that they were blaming her for giving in to her husband’s desires. What could she do? She had no say in the matter. The year was 1960, and it was the law. Married women could not get birth control without the permission from their husbands. Despite the physical and emotional toll, the repeated pregnancies were taking on Jane, her husband who was deeply religious refused to allow her to use birth control. Each pregnancy left Jane feeling weaker, her spirit sinking into the depths of depression.
As she made one more painful step towards her neighbor’s house, she imagined that they would find her dead body next to her newborn baby somewhere between the tall grass behind her house that was never mowed or on the dirt road leading up to her neighbor’s either way she felt her life slipping away. She had lost a lot of blood.
Jane was found near death, and her doctors reported that it was a miracle she was alive. After that close call Jane’s parents, seeing their daughter’s suffering, stepped in to help. They provided the support she needed to make a difficult but necessary decision. With their assistance, Jane filed for divorce, a bold step for a woman in those times.
Jane’s memories often took her back to that time in her life, a time of both joy and sorrow. She was on her tenth pregnancy, a journey that should have been filled with anticipation and excitement. Yet, each of her previous pregnancies had ended in stillbirth, and her tenth pregnancy met with the same fate. It was a heartbreaking cycle of hope and despair.
The Jane’s of the world are now our grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Some still remember what it was like having to ask their husband permission to get on birth control. Or they may even recall how they could get fired for being pregnant or banned from certain jobs. And while this all sounds like issues young women faced from an era long ago, they could resurface especially if we do not learn from our own history.
Women have come a long way in gaining their rights, and it was not until the 1970’s that married women were allowed to seek birth control with the permission from their husband. Even if a woman was unprepared for childbirth or motherhood, or even if she had health issues or was recuperating from a previous pregnancy, birth control could be denied without the expressed consent of their husbands.
The journey of women’s rights in the United States has been a long and difficult one. They have spent many decades in their fight marked by persistent struggle and profound change. There was indeed a time when a woman’s autonomy was severely limited by laws and social norms that placed her under the guardianship of her husband or father.
Women’s legal status was largely dependent on their marital status, with married women having very few, if any, rights independent of their husbands. Her identity, property, and right to legal action were all controlled by the man she married. This included needing a husband’s permission for contraception, credit cards, and property ownership.
The mid-20th century brought significant changes, with the women’s rights movement gaining momentum and challenging the status quo. The introduction of the birth control pill in the 1960s was a watershed moment, providing women with unprecedented control over their reproductive rights. However, it wasn’t until the 1970s that married women could get the pill without their husband’s consent.
Financial independence was another critical area of change. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 made it illegal to discriminate against anyone based on gender, race, religion, national origin, marital status, age, or because they receive public assistance. This law empowered women to obtain credit cards, loans, and mortgages without a male co-signer.
Imagine a world where you as a woman worked hard for your money. Doing whatever it is you do for gainful employment, and you really had your heart set on buying a new washer because you’re sick and tired of going to the laundromat. But because you are a woman you find yourself without rights to your wages. There was a time in American history that any earnings a woman made belonged to her husband. Unbelievable right? Well before women’s rights that was exactly how things were. It wasn’t until the Married Women’s Property Acts that women gained legal control over their property and earnings.
These milestones are part of a broader narrative of progress that includes the suffrage movement, which culminated in the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote in 1920, and the ongoing fight for equality in the workplace and beyond. The journey is far from over, and women could find themselves losing ground on that front and in as early as January 2025. It only takes one step backwards and before you know it women could lose it all from being stripped of their reproductive rights, to property rights to basic human rights.
Today, Jane Armstrong stands as a symbol of resilience and strength. Her story serves as a reminder of the struggles women have faced and the battles they have fought for control over their own bodies. It is proof of the power of the human spirit to endure, and to rise above adversity. Jane Armstrong, who is now 84 years old, divorced her husband and changed her religion.
The divorce marked a turning point in Jane’s life. It was a declaration of her fight for her own survival despite the social norms of that day, especially in a small town. It was a difficult journey, but one that Jane undertook with courage and determination. She continued to have faith in God and met her second husband at her new church. They married six years later and had two healthy boys. Jane Armstrong is not her real name, and her name has been changed to protect her privacy.