Rhetorical Analysis of “The Morality of Birth Control” In the article “The Morality of Birth Control”, Margaret Sanger argued that birth control is a moral solution to unwanted pregnancies and everyone should be informed about it (559). She originally published these claims as a well-known speech. She had hoped to motivate people with positions of power to join her movement promoting birth control. This article was one of the first steps Sanger took to change society’s view about birth control. Although “The Morality of Birth Control” contains a lot of Margaret Sanger’s personal opinions, I agree with her claim and feel as though she made a persuasive argument.
At the time that this speech was given, there was a lot of controversy over …show more content…
Sanger was a nurse and a birth control activist throughout her life. As a child, she witnessed her mother having multiple miscarriages. She believed these miscarriages led to her early death. She also worked as a nurse in New York City and treated many women who attempted to self-terminate their pregnancies (“Margaret”). In addition, she was an activist for population control and eugenics (Latson). This information is important in understanding her logic for why birth control is moral. Sanger advocated for preventing the “unfit” from reproducing through sterilization and contraceptives (Latson). Sanger’s personal experience and background explain her angle of vision that birth control should be used to prevent unwanted …show more content…
Therefore, she only presented her position and did not discuss the opposition. If I disagreed with this article, I may not have been persuaded because there are several ethical concerns that were not addressed. First of all, even if you believe that birth control is a moral solution, is it still moral if we’re handing it out to 12-year-olds? Although it’s preventing pregnancy, young people having access to contraceptives could lead to another big problem. These kids could feel safe and begin having unprotected sex with multiple partners. This in turn could lead to a massive sexually transmitted disease outbreak. Are we going to give them sex education along with the contraceptives to prevent this? In addition, the article should have defined when life begins. This is an important aspect when deciding if you believe birth control is moral. Sanger said, “We must begin farther back and control the beginnings of life” (Sanger 560). In my mind, I take this as considering the beginning of life as conception. If this is their stance, they are now discussing ending the life of a living human being with a contraceptive. Is that still moral? Sanger should have acknowledged and refuted the opposition to make her argument