Related Terms • religion

Name:
Margaret Sanger
Margaret Louise Higgins Sanger

Dates:
Born: September 14, 1883
Died: September 6, 1966
First Birth Control Clinic: October 15, 1916

Biography:
Margaret Sanger was born to a devoutly Catholic family in New York. Her work as a nurse brought to her attention the generally poor knowledge people had about sexual issues, particularly birth control. Working in New York City's Lower East Side, she was faced with many poor women who suffered greatly from frequent childbirths, miscarriages and abortions. In an effort to improve education, she began writing a monthly column in 1912 entitled "What Every Girl Should Know," focusing entirely on sexual issues.

This, of course, did not sit well with censors. At least one of her columns, a piece on venereal disease, was banned as obscene. In March 1914, Sanger began publishing a radical feminist monthly called The Woman Rebel, which she used as a vehicle for challenging various censorship laws. Under the 1873 federal Comstock censorship law, three issues were banned because she advocated the use of birth control in them.

Despite her continuing interest in feminism and general sex education, birth control would remain the principal focus of Sanger's activism. She was determined to do as much as possible to help people learn about birth control, learn how to practice birth control, and obtain birth control devices.

Brownsville, in Brooklyn, was where Sanger opened the nation's first birth control clinic on October 15, 1916. After a mere nine days of operation, police raided the clinic and arrested the staff, including Sanger. She didn't mind, however - the publicity helped her spread her message and attracted the attention of wealthy benefactors who were willing to help fund her efforts.

Although a New York State appellate court would uphold her conviction, it did find that doctors could not be prosecuted for running such a clinic. This loophole allowed Sanger to open a new operation in 1923, this time run by a licensed physician. Another victory in a U.S. Court of Appeals in 1936 resulted in doctors being exempt from the Comstock prohibitions on importing birth control devices. In effect, this meant that doctors were now permitted to prescribe and distribute contraceptives.

Sanger's efforts were pivotal in the expansion of people's rights to make decisions regarding procreation. She even played an important role in the development of new forms of birth control by fostering funding which led to the development of the birth control pill in the 1950s.

Unfortunately, however, Sanger's legacy remains tainted by her association with those who held reactionary views on eugenics. As she tried to increase support for birth control among doctors and scientists, she touted it as an effective way to reduce genetically transmitted mental and physical defects. She even, at one point, supported the sterilization of the "mentally incompetent."

On the other hand, Sanger always retained radical social and political views which caused her to become something of a burden to the birth control movement as it strove to become more mainstream after World War I. As a result, both the left and the right looked upon her with some suspicion and her position became more honorary than active.

Also Known As: none

Alternate Spellings: none

Common Misspellings: none

Related Resources:

Biographies of Philosophers
This index of biographical index of famous philosophers throughout history includes many others who have contributed to our understanding of human nature and life - including sociologists, psychologists, scientists, and more.

What is Philosophy?
What is philosophy? Is there any point in studying philosophy, or is it a useless subject? What are the different branches of philosophy - what's the difference between aestheitcs and ethics? What's the difference between metaphysics and epistemology?