Blog Five

Blog 5

Margaret Sanger

Margaret Sanger is one of the most influential and inspiring women in history- especially in regard to women’s rights and reproductive health. I recall her name coming up in an American history course as we studied women’s rights, so when this assignment came up, I knew exactly who I wanted to study further. Born on September 14, 1879 in Corning, New York, Sanger watched her mother’s health suffer for years as she endured miscarriage after miscarriage, ultimately leading to her early death at only 40 years old. Witnessing her mother’s deteriorating health inspired her to attend college and study nursing, and she participated in many strikes as a member of the Women’s Committee of the New York Socialist Party, the Liberal Club, and the Industrial Workers of the World Union.

An early sex education pioneer, Sanger worked as a nurse and campaigned to educate women about sex, authoring a newspaper column, “What Every Girl Should Know.” She treated many women who had undergone dangerous back-alley abortions or self-terminated pregnancies, which led her to dream of a “magic pill” that could be used to control pregnancy and prevent women from enduring such terrible suffering. Her role as head of the feminist publication The Woman Rebel, which promoted women’s rights to birth control, landed her in legal trouble, so she fled to England where she worked in the women’s movement and conducted research on birth control methods. She smuggled her newly found contraceptive methods back into the U.S. in October 1915, and toured the country promoting birth control- a term she coined herself! A year later, she opened the very first birth control clinic in the United States, but was arrested nine days after its doors opened. She spent 30 days in jail for “providing information on contraception and fitting women for diaphragms,” but after appealing her conviction, she scored a major victory as doctors could then prescribe contraception to female patients for ‘medical reasons.’

In 1921, Margaret Sanger established the American Birth Control League- a precursor to today’s Planned Parenthood Federation of America- and in 1923 opened the first legal birth control clinic in the country. She continued to fight for women’s freedom for birth control and finally, thirteen years later in 1936, doctors could freely distribute birth control to all women. She didn’t only influence the U.S.- she traveled to Europe and Asia working on birth control issues, and in 1952 established the International Planned Parenthood Federation. She, along with human reproduction expert Gregory Pincus, researched and worked together to create her “magic pill”- the very first oral contraceptive approved by the FDA in 1960.

Sanger is famously quoted for saying, “No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother.” As a wife, a very busy mother of two toddlers, and a college student, I couldn’t imagine a life without the confidence and convenience birth control provides. I can’t imagine having any more children right now, and I certainly can’t imagine not having a say or opinion over MY OWN body. It’s hard to imagine a time where women were thrown in jail over a choice that affects their reproductive choices and their bodies. Margaret Sanger’s courage and bravery as she fought for women’s reproductive rights and safety makes her a major inspiration for women everywhere, and her legacy resonates with millions and millions of women today and will continue forever.

- Mallorie Anderson

Reference

Margaret Sanger. (2014, April 2). Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/activist/margaret-sanger