40 Years of Milestones in Women's Health

In 1940, Paul Popenoe, a eugenicist and marriage counselor wrote,  “…feminists may be described as women who have inferiority complexes based on the fact of their sex.” (Modern Marriage: A Handbook for Men, The Macmillan Company)

Thirty-one years later, a group of feminists managed to overcome their inferiority complexes and penned the first issue of Our Bodies, Ourselves. The booklet provided information about women’s health and sexuality and challenged the medical establishment to improve healthcare for women. Forty years and nine editions later, Our Bodies Ourselves (the organization) continues to promote women’s health and rights in the U.S. and beyond. The book has been adapted and translated in more than 25 languages by women around the globe and thousands people read Our Bodies Our Blog. Women’s health has enjoyed plenty of medical and political breakthroughs, but the path has been far from straightforward. Read on for some of the key milestones in women’s health of the past 40 years.

The Seventies

1971
The FDA issues a warning against DES, a synthetic form of estrogen widely prescribed to pregnant women to prevent miscarriage.

1972
Title IX requires schools and colleges that receive federal assistance to provide the same athletic opportunities to girls as they do to boys.

1973
In Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court determines a woman’s access to legal abortion is a basic privacy right and not to be determined by state law.

 

1976 The Hyde Amendment passes, barring the use of federal Medicaid funds to pay for abortion. This legislation continues to restrict poor women’s access to abortions to this day. The Nurses Health Study begins. With 238,000 nurse subjects, it is the largest and longest running study of women’s health. The FDA approves e.p.t., the first over-the-counter pregnancy test kit.

1978
Six years after the passage of Title IX, the percent of girls participating in sports increases from 4% to 25%.

1979
National Cancer Institute declares that Halsted radical mastectomy is no longer the preferred treatment for most cases of breast cancer.

The Eighties 1980 FDA requires all tampon packages to include inserts explaining the risk of toxic shock syndrome and how to prevent it. Calvin Klein publishes ad featuring 15-year-old Brooke Shields, “You wanna know comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.” 1981  Congress funds “chastity education programs” through the passage of the Adolescent Family Life Act. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence establishes day of unity in October to mourn battered women who have died, celebrate survivors, and honor all who are working to defeat domestic violence.

1984
The Reagan administration introduces the Global Gag Rule, disqualifying any overseas organizations from receiving U.S. Family Planning Funds if they provide legal abortion services.

1985
Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop, convenes a “Surgeon General’s Workshop on Violence and Public Health” to examine the epidemic of violence against women, children, and the elderly.

Photo by Tristan Savatier

1987 More than 200,000 gay men and lesbians march in Washington DC to demand equality.  The Nineties 1990 The NIH establishes the Office of Research on Women’s Health to address the inequities in women’s health. Teen pregnancy in the U.S. peaks at 117 per 1,000 teens.

1991
Anita Hill testifies at Clarence Thomas’ Supreme Court confirmation hearings, and brings the problem of sexual harassment out into the open.

The NIH establishes the Women’s Health Study to examine the most common causes of death, illness, and quality of life after menopause.

1993 Congress passes “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” banning openly gay men and women from serving in the U.S. military. President Bill Clinton repeals the Global Gag Rule. Marital rape becomes a crime in all 50 states.

1993 – 1998
Wave of violence targets abortion providers:

• Dr. David Gunn fatally shot in Pensacola, Florida, 1993.
• Dr. John Britton and James Barrett shot to death in Pensacola, Florida, 1994.
• Sharon Lowney and Lee Ann Nichols shot and killed in Brookline, Massachusetts, 1994.
• Dr. Barnett Slepian fatally shot in Amherst, New York, 1998.

1994
Violence Against Women Act establishes federal penalties for spouse abusers and provides federal money for rape crisis centers and women’s shelters.

1998
FDA approves “the morning-after pill”. It can be taken up to 72 hours after unprotected sex.

Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act requires group health plans that cover mastectomies to also cover certain reconstructive surgery.

A New Millenium

Photo by NARAL Pro-Choice America

2000 The World Health Organization estimates that worldwide, 68,000 women die from unsafe abortions each year. 2001 President George W. Bush reinstates the Global Gag Rule. The U.S. Institute of Medicine determines that gender should be an important consideration in medical research. 2002 Women’s Health Initiative clinical trial of estrogen-progestin hormone treatment ends early because the risks outweigh the benefits. 2003 Teen girls spend over $8 billion a year on beauty products alone.

2004
Teen pregnancy rates hit historic low, due in part to more teens using birth control effectively.

2006
FDA approves HPV vaccine for girls and women to prevent cervical cancer. It later extends approval of the vaccine to prevent some vulvar and vaginal cancers.

2007
Federal funding for abstinence-only and abstinence-only-until marriage sex education reaches $176 million per year.

1970-2007 Life expectancy increases for white women from 75.6 to 80.8 years. Black women’s life expectancy goes from 68.3 to 76.8 years during the same period. 2007 The American Psychological Association links sexualization of girls in the media to eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression. 2000-2008  Abortion rates in the U.S. decline — except among poor women, for whom the rate increases 18%.

Photo by Julie Kertesz

2009
President Barak Obama reverses the Global Gag Rule

Anti-abortion extremist murders Dr. George Tiller in the foyer of his church in Wichita, Kansas.

2010
Congress passes the Affordable Care Act.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports nearly 219,000 cosmetic surgeries on people between the ages of 13 and 19. Common procedures include nose reshaping, breast reduction, and acne and acne scar treatment.

Photo by James Davison

Title IX linked to a 40% rise in employment for women between the ages 25 and 34. About 50% of high school girls participate in sports, however, daughters of poor or uneducated parents are less likely to play sports and reap the benefits of Title IX.

2011
Major strides in gay and lesbian rights:

• President Obama directs the U.S. Justice Department to curtail its support of the Defense of Marriage Act.
• New York joins 6 other states that allow and recognize gay marriage.
• Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repealed after 18 years, allowing gay men and lesbian to serve openly in the military.

Time Magazine names Our Bodies, Ourselves one of the most influential non-fiction books published since 1923.

40 years after the first edition, the ninth edition of Our Bodies, Ourselves is published.

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Created by Joanne Barker, a healthcare writer and editor and member of the Board of Directors for Our Bodies Ourselves and originally posted at her blog. The author wishes to extend her deepest gratitude to the board and staff of Our Bodies Ourselves, as well as to Betsy Friauf, whose post on Women’s Health Milestones provided endless inspiration and insight.