Opinion – Britney’s pregnancy marks happy end to tragic story

Spears’ pregnancy announcement was welcome news. It also marked the end of her 13-year-long conservatorship, which forbid her from having more children. Sadly, Britney’s story of fertility control is not uncommon.  

When the ‘Free Britney’ movement emerged with a vengeance in 2019, many were quick to slander members as conspiracy theorists.

Britney Spears’ avid fans were convinced the singer was being placed under a legal conservatorship against her will, an arrangement that denies a person their individual rights over personal assets, healthcare, and finances.

As we know now, ‘Free Britney’ supporters were right all along.

After years of silence, Britney began sharing impassioned statements on social media, a public plea for help that eventually made its way to court. She relayed her desire to leave the ‘threatening’ and ‘abusive’ conservatorship that saw her father legally control every aspect of her life since 2008.

After almost 14 years, Britney’s conservatorship has ended. The singer has wasted no time exerting her new-found freedom, sharing her engagement to long-time boyfriend Sam Ashgari in September. The conservatorship had denied Britney the right to marry and have more children.

This week, Britney followed up with more joyous news in the form of a cryptic pregnancy announcement. One of the star’s signature lengthy, emoji-laden Instagram captions was used to share the news with fans on Instagram. Public support has erupted over the past few days, many calling the announcement Britney’s ‘ultimate freedom’.

Rumours of a mandated IUD implant, placed in Britney under her conservatorship, left a bitter taste in one’s mouth. But the assumptions ring truer than ever in light of her pregnancy news. Just months after the end of her conservatorship, this announcement is a mark of Britney’s regained bodily autonomy, a moving statement of triumph over years of oppression.

Sadly, though, Britney’s story of fertility control is not uncommon – despite the unusual conditions in which it arose.

Women have long been subject to emotional and physical abuse surrounding the sensitive topic of pregnancy. The ability to ‘provide’ children for the men in their life, whether that be fathers, husbands, or other relations, is used as a barometer by which to value women against a misogynist and archaic ideal.

The feminist movement and eventual rollout of the contraceptive pill in the 1960s were a response to this reproductive choke-hold. But despite moving leaps and bounds from the restraints of the early 20th century, Britney’s experience of conservatorship has been a dire reminder of the reality many women still face.