Historical legacies of inequality

Inequalities in reproductive health simply replicate the overall inequalities in the society.  Inequality in medical care reflects political, economic, social and constitutional inequalities; specifically, because our welfare state is based on fragmented coverage of particular populations, rather than simpler universal coverage, so too are reproductive health services.  Ever since the birth-control movement of the early 20^th century began to open clinics, providers realized that providing “family planning” could not be separated from holistic health care.  In these inequalities, racial, ethnic and class inequality have been mapped onto different regional histories.  To name just a few: 

--In the southeastern states, centuries of white rule and share-cropping exploitation meant virtually no medical care for the majority of the poor, both black and white, until very recently. 

--In the southwestern and west-coast states, a century-and-a-half of using immigrant and Mexican-origin labor created similar racisms and deprivations. 

--Throughout the US, 150 years of nativism continue today to deny health care to those who need it most and strengthen opposition to public funding.

At the same time American religiosity and prudery periodically re-escalate, building moral panics about reproductive rights.   For all these reasons, birth-control activists were often forced to compromise with regional prejudice in order to win benefits for more privileged groups.  Today gerry-mandering and political over-representation of conservative regions have continued to endanger reproductive health.