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yamsham · Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 26

i found it interesting that it was both the comunists (by that i mean USSR) and the christians who were most against the idea of having abortions, but it makes sense because those groups are very member happy. it's funny how these arguments from both sides are the same as they are today and that the fight is still happening (from both sides) even after all this time. but it's odd that the government would be so anti abortion in a time where having kids is probably the worst thing anyone could do at the time. and the excuse that they would be future workers... yeah in like ten years. but it's also cool how the parties on the left (minus the USSR) were all brought togetehr on this one issue during the times in weinmar.

edangelo · Joined: 15 Nov 2010 Posts: 41

I found throughout this whole article it was really interesting to compare and contrast to the issue of abortion as it is today. There are so many similarities, and the arguments in support of abortion are completely the same. The arguments against seem to be much harsher than anything you would frequently see in the US, for example when the Pope “insisted on women’s subordinate position within the family, and warned against the false freedom that was female emancipation” (p71). I don’t think even religious right could get away with saying that now in this country. It seems like at the heart of the issue in Weimar was the more shifting role of women into the working world, and less an issue or ‘murder or not murder’. As the author states; “the question was not women’s reproductive freedom…but rather the central function of their reproductive work…at stake was women’s ideological role” (p69). Also one big difference in the argument then versus now was the lack of sex education and the limited access to birth control. For many women they didn’t have the money and resources to get birth control, which ties class into the issue much more than it comes into to play today, with Planned Parenthood and free clinics, etc. Also one thing that really surprised me was that despite abortion being illegal, the average German woman had two in her lifetime. That really shows how little the law really affected the numbers of abortions performed, and the huge risk women were at with these backdoor clinics. Just in general I thought this article was really interesting, I’m excited to see what the rest of you guys think.

mreilly · Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 14

I agree with Douglas. I too found it strange that the government was so anti-abortion during the depression where having another kid could ruin your family's life since it was impossible to afford. I found the parts in the article most interesting where it had first hand accounts of women's reactions to the abortion issue "Of what use is suffrage to woman if she is still to remain a helpless baby machine?"(p.75) I thought it was disgusting how the KPD was using the abortion and contraception issue to help boost their own agenda. They did not truly care about the issue but despicably used it as a vehicle for attracting unaffiliated or SPD women and to get more votes for their party. Although they did bring the subject in to a greater light and brought masses of women together to fight for one issue, they had no intention of organizing them. It's ironic how even though they didnt care about the issues they managed to bring about a women's movement. "The KPD feared precisely what it had helped to bring into existence- a strong and potentially autonomous women's movement." (p.79) Like Emily said I think this article is especially relevant to the abortion debates of today. I feel like most pro-choicers and feminists would appreciate the quote by feminist writer Thea van Harbou. "We need a new sexual code because the old was created by man and no man is in a position to understand the agony of a woman who is carrying a child that she knows she cannot feed." (p.75)

kstafford · Joined: 03 Apr 2011 Posts: 2

I agree with everyone who has already posted. I found it so harsh horrible for the Pope to say such a thing, but I suppose that is what happens sometimes in religion. I admire they women from that time period because they must have been extremely brave to not only stand up for themselves the way they did, but also because being a mother must have been awful. I found it ironic that at that time women were denied, by their government, to right choose to have an abortion or use contraceptives, because not long after Hilter ordered permanent birth control on many woman (AND MEN!) by means of sterilization.

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