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How the women鈥檚 movement in Britain fought for access to birth control

Radio 1 DJ Gemma Cairney traces the history of the women鈥檚 movement in Britain and discovers how women fought for access to birth control. Childbirth in Victorian times was dangerous and difficult. Victorian families were large and reliable contraception was not available.

Marie Stopes believed that married women had a right to birth control. In 1921 the first birth control clinic in Britain was opened. In 1961 the contraceptive pill was introduced. Illegal back street abortions were a leading cause of maternal death. The 1967 Abortion Act made abortion legal and abortion still remains a controversial issue.

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Duration:

5 minutes