Margaret Sanger And Birth Control

The argument over a woman’s right to choose over the life of an unborn baby has been a prevalent issue in America for many years. As a birth control activist, Margaret Sanger is recognized for her devotion to the pro-choice side of the debate as she has worked to provide sex education and legalize birth control. As part of her pro-choice movement, Sanger delivered a speech at the Sixth International Neo-Malthusian and Birth Control Conference in March of 1925. This speech is called “The Children’s Era,” in which she explains how she wants the twentieth century to become the “century of the child.”

In 1916 overpopulation was a growing issue. Many children were coming into the world unintentionally and unwanted. Margaret Sanger believed that all women should have the ability to choose if and when they wanted to become mothers by giving them access to birth control. Sanger’s family had 11 children and she worked as a nurse. Sanger worked in New York City slums with poor families and mothers constantly giving birth to unwanted children. Sanger had been arrested many times for speaking out about her research and ideas on birth control; most of what Sanger was promoting was illegal, it wasn’t until the 1920’s that she began to work with the law. Sanger opened the first legal American Birth Control League in 1921, which later became what is now known at Planned Parenthood. Sanger spent years after sharing her research with the rest of the world and opening numerous clinics. Sanger delivered the speech The Children’s Era on March 30, 1925 in New York. The speech was given to a group of people attending the Sixth International Neo-Malthusian and Birth Control Conference, a conference on the topics of birth control and population control. In front of an audience that praised and disagreed with her ideas, Sanger spoke using many rhetorical devices to guarantee a spark to the senses of every audience member listening. Too many babies wasn’t just a problem for mothers, but for the whole world. Sanger approached the ideas of overpopulation, abortions, women 's choice, and the

classification of birth control as obscenity in federal court,” in 1936 (Commire, ed., 1994). Any

Trying to prevent neglected children and back-alley abortions, Margaret Sanger gave the moving speech, “The Children’s Era,” in 1925 to spread information on the benefits and need for birth control and women's rights. Margaret Sanger--activist, educator, writer, and nurse--opened the first birth control clinic in the United States and established organizations that evolved into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. During most of the 1900’s, birth control and abortions were illegal in the United States, causing women to give birth unwillingly to a child they must be fully responsible for. This caused illness and possible death for women attempting self-induced abortion. Sanger uses literary devices such as repetition and analogies

Margaret Sanger went through many obstacles but still managed to spread her message and educate women about family planning. Her pamphlet “Family Limitations” included six different methods of contraception. 100,000 copies of the pamphlet were printed and distributed illegally (Malladi). “At the time Sanger published the pamphlet, the

Margaret Sanger produced the first birth control pill, arguably the most salient innovation for women’s reproductive rights in the 20th century. At seventy, Sanger had spent decades fighting for women’s rights and had made several valuable contributions, but she was still frustrated with a lack of effective birth control in America. (Eig 30). In 1959, she employed the scientific knowledge of Gregory Pincus to produce the world’s first oral birth control drug. (The Pill”). The team had little hope for the pill, but on May 9th, 1960, the Food and Drug Association approved the sale of the newly introduced oral contraceptive by doctors nationally. (“HPV, HIV, Birth Control”). By 1967, thirteen million women used

The first recorded account of contraceptives was in 3000 BC when men formulated condoms out of fish bladders and linen sheaths (“A Brief History of Birth Control in the U.S.-Our Bodies Ourselves”). The fact that people have felt the need for contraceptives since 3000 BC is a good testament to the need for modern day ways to prevent pregnancy. According to the same article, in the 1500’s the first spermicide was developed and used, and in 1838 the first modernized rubber condom was invented. After centuries of using different forms of birth control, in 1960, the first oral contraceptive, which was called Enovid, went on the market and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Only eight years later, the inter-uterine device (IUD) was developed and went on the market as the products of Lippes Loop and Copper 7. In 1980, only three and a half decades ago, Paraguard was developed, and oral contraceptives began being made with low doses of hormones to increase their efficiency (“A Brief History of Birth Control in the U.S.-Our Bodies Ourselves”). Over the past several decades, birth control has evolved and made many women’s lives easier, but the ability to obtain contraceptives was not always so

Margaret Sanger, an American birth control activist, made an announcement titled “The Children’s Era,’ at the first national birth-control conference in March of 1925. In this speech, Sanger attempts to influence her ideas and beliefs on the importance of birth control and contraceptives to the health of society’s women. She also vividly explains how controlled childbearing would apply to children who would eventually be born. Margaret Sanger distinctly uses rhetorical devices which greatly support her dedication to allow women to control their lives.

The names jointly associated with the pills development are three males— Carl Djerassi, Gregory Pincus and John Rock. The two females who played a central role in its development, Katharine McCormick and Margaret Sanger, are often not associated. Also the hundreds of women who volunteered to participate in the pill’s risky clinical trials are not associated with its development, May depicts the reason for failure of recognition by shedding light to the darkness of the pill. She dedicates several pages to specifying the moral and physical risks posed by the pill. May provides supportive information about numerous research trials all over the world (including the U.S.), and the stories of countless women whose suffrage heavily contributed to the development of the pill and the approval for

In the 1910s, Sanger became an advocate for birth control. As the years went on, Margaret Sanger became associated with the term of birth control and even later, eugenics. In the 1920s, she gave a speech entitled “The Morality of Birth Control”. In the speech, she addressed why birth control should be legal and why women deserve

“With funding from International Harvester heiress Katharine McCormick, Sanger recruited researcher Gregory Pincus to develop an oral contraceptive or "magic pill." The result, Enovid, was approved for usage by the Food and Drug Administration in 1960.” (Katz, 2010) All of her efforts helped to continue with the study and research regarding birth

Children remain a controversial issue in the law for women and occur frequently in debates today. The birth control movement started in 1873 with the Comstock Law, which outlawed the distribution of birth control information and devices through mail. This included birth control related items imported from outside the United States. The Comstock Law also outlawed possession of information about birth control, as well as possession of actual birth control devices or medications, including those for abortions or contraceptives. In the 1900s, many states held laws that prohibited medically prescribed contraceptives to married couples. In 1912, Margaret Sanger began publishing articles on birth control and founded the National Birth

Before the 1960s, not all women were allowed access to the popular birth control contraceptive known as “the pill.” Birth control pills were only given to married couples, due to the Supreme Court ruling in the year 1965. However, what about all the other unmarried women who needed means of contraceptives, right? Well, it was not until the year of 1972, that the supreme court ruled in Baird versus Eisenstadt, that the oral birth control contraceptive be legalized for all women regardless of what they marital status was at the time. This time period from the 1960s - 1980s was known as the Sexual Revolution.

The roar of the 1920s set new perspectives on youth and culture into motion: the right of a woman to control her own body and her choices.With Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s help, women were able to speak up and be themselves as flappers, suffragettes, or working women. As the 1900s marched on, women urged for more and more rights. From the early creation of bloomers by Amelia Bloomer to the beginnings of the feminist movement, women’s rights were shaped in Stanton’s brave image. As women found more freedom to advocate for themselves and their bodies, the debate eventually shifted to controversial topics such as abortion. However, Stanton and Anthony’s shadow remained and women in the 1900s found courage to stand up and fight for their rights in the form of protests, boycotts, and marches. For instance, Margaret Sanger took center stage, opening the first birth control clinic in 1916. She went on to create the American Birth Control League in 1921. Just as Stanton’s dedicated work eventually brought around the 19th amendment with the help of devoted suffragettes, pro-choice advocates gave way to the Roe v. Wade trial and its decision to decriminalize abortion. The American Birth Control League would eventually become Planned Parenthood and the work of Margaret Sanger and the activists of the 1900s would create much of the equality seen in the 21st century -- all under Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s

However, the Comstock Law remained an unchallenged law for many years however this was going to change. In 1916, Sanger was arrested along with her sister, this arrest became a legal battle challenging the Comstock Law. Sanger was arrested due to opening the United States first birth control clinic. When Sanger was arrested, she was later taken to court and with this court appearance, a historical event was beginning to happen. In 1918 women, could use birth control for therapeutic uses, this decision was known as the 1918 Crane decision. Sanger went on to later open another birth control clinic in 1923 which was legally ran by doctors, this clinic was known as the “Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau”.