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Margaret Sanger

Margaret Sanger
Sanger in 1922
Born
Margaret Louise Higgins

(1879-09-14)September 14, 1879
Corning, New York, U.S.
DiedSeptember 6, 1966(1966-09-06) (aged 86)
Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Occupation(s)Social reformer, sex educator, writer, nurse
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1902; div. 1921)​
    [a]
  • James Noah H. Slee
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1922; died 1943)​
Children3
RelativesEthel Byrne (sister)

Margaret Higgins Sanger (born Margaret Louise Higgins; September 14, 1879 – September 6, 1966), also known as Margaret Sanger Slee, was an American birth control activist, sex educator, writer, and nurse. Sanger popularized the term "birth control", opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, and established organizations that evolved into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.[2]

Sanger used her writings and speeches primarily to promote her way of thinking. She was prosecuted for her book Family Limitation under the Comstock Act in 1914. She feared the consequences of her writings, so she fled to Britain until public opinion had quieted.[3] Sanger's efforts contributed to several judicial cases that helped legalize contraception in the United States.[4] Due to her connection with Planned Parenthood, Sanger is frequently criticized by opponents of abortion.[5] Sanger drew a sharp distinction between birth control and abortion, and was opposed to abortions throughout the bulk of her professional career, declining to participate in them as a nurse.[6] Sanger remains a prominent figure in the American reproductive rights and feminist movements.[7] Sanger has been criticized for supporting eugenics, including negative eugenics.[8] Some historians believe her support of negative eugenics, a popular stance at that time, was a rhetorical tool rather than a personal conviction.[9] In 2020, Planned Parenthood disavowed Sanger, citing her past record with eugenics and racism.[10][11]

In 1916, Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the U.S., which led to her arrest for distributing information on contraception, after an undercover policewoman bought a copy of her pamphlet on family planning.[12] Her subsequent trial and appeal generated controversy. Sanger felt that for women to have a more equal footing in society and to lead healthier lives, they needed to be able to determine when to bear children. She also wanted to prevent so-called back-alley abortions,[13] which were common at the time because abortions were illegal in the U.S.[14] She believed that, while abortion may be a viable option in life-threatening situations for the pregnant, it should generally be avoided.[15] She considered contraception the only practical way to avoid them.[16]

In 1921, Sanger founded the American Birth Control League, which later became the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. In New York City, she organized the first birth control clinic to be staffed by all-female doctors, as well as a clinic in Harlem which had an all African-American advisory council,[17] where African-American staff was later added.[18] In 1929, she formed the National Committee on Federal Legislation for Birth Control, which served as the focal point of her lobbying efforts to legalize contraception in the United States. From 1952 to 1959, Sanger served as president of the International Planned Parenthood Federation. She died in 1966 and is widely regarded as a founder of the modern birth control movement.[4]

  1. ^ Baker 2011, p. 126.
  2. ^ "Political Attacks on Planned Parenthood Are a Threat to Women's Health". Scientific American. June 1, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  3. ^ Douglas, Emily (1970). Margaret Sanger: Pioneer of the Future. Canada: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. p. 57.
  4. ^ a b Benjamin, Hazel C. (January 1, 1938). "Lobbying for Birth Control". The Public Opinion Quarterly. 2 (1): 48–60. doi:10.1086/265152. JSTOR 2745054.
  5. ^ Cooper, Melinda (January 20, 2023). "The Anti-Abortion Movement and the Ghost of Margaret Sanger". Dissent. No. Winter 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  6. ^ "Margaret Sanger — Our Founder" (PDF). Planned Parenthood. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 2, 2019.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference New York Times was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Margaret Sanger: Ambitious Feminist and Racist Eugenicist". Woman is a Rational Animal. September 21, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  9. ^ "Eugenics and Birth Control | American Experience | PBS". www.pbs.org. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  10. ^ Stewart, Nikita (July 21, 2020). "Planned Parenthood in N.Y. disavows Margaret Sanger over Eugenics". The New York Times. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  11. ^ "Planned Parenthood's Reckoning with Margaret Sanger". www.plannedparenthood.org. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  12. ^ Cox 2005, p. 7.
  13. ^ Cox 2005, pp. 3–4.
  14. ^ Pollitt, Katha. "Abortion in American History". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  15. ^ Sanger, Margaret (January 27, 1932). "The Pope's Position on Birth Control". The Nation. Although abortion may be resorted to in order to save the life of the mother, the practice of it merely for limitation of offspring is dangerous and vicious.
  16. ^ Sanger, Margaret (1917). Family Limitation (PDF). p. 5. Retrieved March 11, 2016. No one can doubt that there are times where an abortion is justifiable but they can become unnecessary when care is taken to prevent conception. This is the only cure for abortion.
  17. ^ Wangui Muigai (Spring 2010). "Looking Uptown: Margaret Sanger and the Harlem Branch Birth Control Clinic". The Newsletter. No. #54. The Margaret Sanger Papers Project.
  18. ^ Klapper, Melissa R. (2014). Ballots, Babies, and Banners of Peace: American Jewish Women's Activism, 1890–1940. NYU Press. pp. 137–138. ISBN 978-1479850594.


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