The spike in anti-abortion legislation on the state level this year is part of the corporatist agenda that includes shifting the tax burden off corporations and onto the poor and middle class and includes the stripping of union rights and privatization of government assets and services. That the life expectancy of women in over 300 counties in the U.S. is declining to where it was 50 years ago and falling farther behind the developed world is no coincidence.
After WWII, public policy changed to get Rosie the Riveter out of paid employment to become housewives having babies. To this end, factories closed their on-site child care centers and single women who got married were laid off. This would open up jobs for returning veterans and increase demand for consumer goods to take up the slack from reducing military spending.
During the 50's, many states had laws on the books that criminalized contraception. Condoms could be purchased from a druggist and had disclaimers that they were for the prevention of disease only, not for the prevention of pregnancy. During the Depression, the enforcement of bastardy laws and harassment of black market abortion providers by the police in larger metro areas dwindled as a reflection of the difficult times. Bastardy laws gave a man the choice of marrying the woman he impregnated or going to jail, giving rise to the expression of wife as 'ball and chain.'
In addition to restricting access to abortion, contraception was kept out of the hands of women by a conservative medical establishment. More births meant more income for said establishment. The rise of the counter culture and the Baird and Griswold decisions by the Supreme Court as well as the introduction of oral contraceptives in 1960 rendered that strategy ineffective. Abortion providers today also provide reliable science-based access to contraception without a religious or ideological bias. Put them out of business and the bias is free to rear its ugly head again.
The concept of "planned obsolescent" was also introduced in the 50's to further increase consumer spending. The import of motor vehicles from Europe and Japan saddled Detroit with a reputation for lesser quality it has yet to shed.
