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Margaret Sanger

Margaret Sanger. James Solomon. Dates n’ Such. Born September 14, 1879 in Corning, New York Died September 6, 1966 in Tuscon, Arizona 1916 opens first ever birth control clinic in America however it is raided within ten days 1923 Sanger establishes the first “legal” birth control clinic.

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Margaret Sanger

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  1. Margaret Sanger James Solomon

  2. Dates n’ Such • Born September 14, 1879 in Corning, New York • Died September 6, 1966 in Tuscon, Arizona • 1916 opens first ever birth control clinic in America however it is raided within ten days • 1923 Sanger establishes the first “legal” birth control clinic

  3. Birth Control • Birth Control, or contraceptives, are used to prevent pregnancy • When people think birth control, they think of… • birth control pills- they had not even been researched until later in Sanger’s life • Condoms- were used by men that slept with prostitutes to avoid VD so they had a negative connotation and were to a degree shameful

  4. The Diaphragm is Mightier Than the Sword • The diaphragm became Sanger’s birth control method of choice after she learned about it on a trip to Europe

  5. Mommy and Daddy • Mother was Anne Higgins, a Roman Catholic, who went through 18 pregnancies (can you say stretch marks!), 11 of them were live births. • Later dies of TB, largely because of the frequency of her pregnancies • Father was Michael Higgins, who carved tombstones

  6. Her Family • In 1902 she married William Sanger • She has three children: Stuart, Grant, and finally Peggy who died when she was only five • In 1913, William and Margaret Sanger separated • In 1922, she married James Noah H. Slee, an oil tycoon

  7. Why Birth Control • Believed “every child a wanted child” • Hated watching her mom die from pregnancy • Worked in the East Slums of Manhattan as a midwife where she witnessed families that had more babies than they could support, and deaths because of pregnancy • The case of Sadie Sachs was especially memorable, and a turning point in Sanger’s life

  8. Sadie Sachs • Sanger first met her when she was sent to help Sadie recover after she self induced abortion because she could not afford it • Sadie asked her doctor for alternatives for the future, the doctor suggested abstinence to this married woman • Sanger was later called back, this time Sachs was dead after another self induced abortion

  9. Comstock Laws • Federal law passed in 1873 • Punished the sending of the “obscene” via the mail • “…an obscene book, pamphlet, paper, writing, advertisement, circular, print, picture, drawing or other representation, figure, or image on or of paper or other material, or any cast instrument, or other article of an immoral nature, or any drug or medicine, or any article whatever, for the prevention of conception, or for causing unlawful abortion, or shall advertise the same for sale, or shall write or print, or cause to be written or printed, any card, circular, book, pamphlet, advertisement, or noticeBasically, these laws prevented Sanger from distributing information about contraceptives through the mail…” • In 1915 William Sanger was jailed for 30 days for distributing his wife's pamphlet “Family Limitations”

  10. No Gods and No Masters: The Woman Rebel • Publishes monthly newsletter called the Woman Rebel • Arrested because she violated Comstock laws however she jumped bail and moved to Europe with the alias Bertha Watson • After she returned to face the court system, the case was dropped so that she wouldn’t get publicity

  11. Victory in Defeat • In October of 1916, Sanger opened a clinic in Brooklyn that distributed diaphragms • It was raided nine days later • Sanger served a month in prison • She appealed and in 1918, the NYS Court of Appeals reinterpreted the Comstock laws so that it was now legal for a physician to distribute birth control for health reasons • Later she would score another victory in that the government could not confiscate imported diaphragms that were to be distributed by a physician

  12. American Birth Control League • A couple books and pamphlets later, Sanger founds the ABCL in 1921 • In 1923 she opened a legal birth control clinic • A female staff was headed by a female physician who distributed birth control for medical reasons • In 1928 she resigned as president of the ABCL • During this time, Sanger traveled several times to Japan to promote birth control

  13. Other Stuff • 1923- lobbying group National Committee on Federal Legislation for Birth Control, Sanger was president, dissolved 1937 • Sanger organizes World Population Conference in Geneva in 1927 • President of Birth Control International Information Center in 1930 • 1937- chairperson of the Birth Control Council of America

  14. … Continued • 1939-1942 she was an honorary delegate of the Birth Control Federation of America • 1952-1959 she was president of the International Planned Parenthood Federation • She moved to Tucson, Arizona where in her retirement, she supported the birth control pill

  15. Eugenics • As if she wasn’t controversial enough, Sanger supported eugenics which caused many to call her a Nazi • Eugenics is essentially selectively breading a “better” society • Especially believed that the mentally dimwitted should use birth control

  16. American Heroine? • The definition for heroine I found in a dictionary was “a woman admired for his achievements and noble qualities”

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