Margaret Sanger: The Women's Rights Movement

Margaret Sanger was a controversial and historical nurse. She lived during a time of revolutionary change when the women’s rights movement was in full motion. Born in 1879, to a large impoverished family, she was the sixth of eleven children. Sanger was part of a family of devoted Catholics. During that time it was a common practice for women to birth as many children as possible. As a result, she was a witness to the effects of diseases, miscarriages, and multiple pregnancies that eventually led to her mother’s premature death. This had a significant impact on her ideologies. She eventually became known for advocating women’s reproductive rights and founding what is now known as Planned Parenthood.

Thesis: Margaret Sanger changed the world by rallying for the availability and use of contraceptives for all women.

Children. They are a soft spot in nearly everyone’s hearts, and when it comes to the topic of making sure they are protected and cared for, the utmost time often gets invested. This has been true throughout most of history, where children were, and still are, protected with their own set of rights and laws. However, in the 1920s, Margaret Sanger was one of the more prominent people fighting for the rights for children and mothers alike. Pioneer of Planned Parenthood and advocate for women’s rights, Sanger was often under harsh speculation at the time of her existence. Where most people were conservative, and a high population of people were religion oriented, Sanger went against the grain and fought for the idea of birth control, abortion for mothers, and for every child to be given the right to be born in to a family that could more than adequately care for them. Having been under harsh penalty of the law and escaping to Europe until charges on her were dropped, Sanger was no stranger to controversy. In 1925, she delivered a speech in New York to a conference called “The Children’s era” to pose her rather outlandish ideas on how to make this era for the children. Despite the underlining message being seen as positive, her overall address was ineffective in delivery due to her over use of pathos, the extensive, muddled out metaphors damaging her credibility, and lack of sufficient evidence to back up her claims.

Margaret Sanger was, at large, a birth control activist, but this speech was more about the questioning of birth control corrupting morality in women. People must remember, in the day and age

In addition to What Every Girl Should Know, Sanger created other propaganda, which informed women that they deserved the right to prevent births. The purpose of her first publication of this type, a magazine called The Woman Rebel, was to inspire women to demand rights. She wanted "to stimulate working women to think for themselves and to build up a conscience, fighting character" (Douglas, 50). In each issue of the "Rebel", she discussed topics such as child labor, women and children in industry, health and cultural opportunities. She believed that women must determine her own maternity-"This was the most precious freedom" (Douglas, 50).

"A free race cannot be born" and no woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body. No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother"(Sanger A 35). Margaret Sanger (1870-1966)said this in one of her many controversial papers. The name of Margaret Sanger and the issue of birth control have virtually become synonymous. Birth control and the work of Sanger have done a great deal to change the role of woman in society, relationships between men and woman, and the family. The development and spread of knowledge of birth control gave women sexual freedom for the first time, gave them an individual

Sanger was born on September 14, 1879, in Corning, New York, with the name of Margaret Higgins. From the very beginning Margaret Sanger was against large family households. She grew up in a very immense family of eleven siblings with her very religious mother, Anne Higgins, who was a hard working woman who pushed young Sanger into the Roman Catholic religion and her free minded father, Michael Higgins, who worked as a stonemason and put his best efforts in his family but would much rather talk about politics and drink. Margaret would only follow in her father’s footsteps wanting to speak of politics nevertheless she did strive for the strength of belief in something greater than herself. She could only imagine, although she knew somehow she was going to impact the world. Sanger attended St.mary's grade school in

Having gone through the hardships that she did, Margaret Sanger developed her own theories and beliefs about health in women. Through the

Sanger made huge changes in how the society viewed women at that time period. She was influential to women who felt like their life revolved around giving birth only. She also gave many women birth control options which allowed them the freedom of sexuality in everyday life. Sanger advocated and fought for women's rights throughout her life. Her determination and hard work gave women social rights, which later led to their right to control their own body through birth control.She advocated repeatedly that without birth control women will never be free (Sanger).

After her mother passed away, in 1910, Margaret Sanger and her family moved to New York where she got a job as a nurse for immigrants. While working as a nurse, Sanger noticed that poor working class families had more children than they could afford. She saw families trapped into poverty due to the high number of children and low income to support them. She witnessed different diseases and mishandled abortions. Women were sick and left without help by repeated pregnancies. One case that caught her attention the most was a lady who died from an illegal abortion because her doctor refused to give her birth control. She also witnessed the difference in treatment parents offer to the wanted and unwanted children. Therefore, Margaret Sanger realized

Many also believed it was the man’s decision as to how many children his wife should have. Sanger continued her quest opening a birth-control clinic in Brooklyn, New York, in 1916; one year later, the authorities arrested her for giving contraceptives to immigrant women (Bowles, 2011). At first glance it appears that Sanger had good intentions. “Others criticized her for involvement with eugenics, which was a scientific movement in which its practitioners advocated the notion that all mental and physical "abnormalities" were linked to hereditary and, with selective breeding, could be eliminated. They questioned whether or not Sanger's insistence on birth control and abortion was in fact a way to limit the growth of ethnic populations” (Bowles, 2011). “Of course, her activism put her directly at odds with law-enforcement officials and the Catholic Church, but little discussed is the actual extent to which her early Marxism guided much of what she managed to achieve. Her good friends included ultra-radicals like John Reed and Emma Goldman, and the truth is that Margaret’s feminism, and her support for eugenic ‘sexual science’, were both simply part-and-parcel of her own unique Marxist vision. Humanitarianism, per se, had little to do with what motivated Margaret Sanger” (Spooner, 2005). Sanger’s actions and motivations are a controversial topic that have been analyzed and debated for years. “According to her New York Times obituary,

Margaret Sanger was one of the most influential women of the progressive era. While both a suffragist and an avid women's rights advocate, she worked tirelessly on her goal to create a safe and effective birth control method, though many people thought her work to be evil and sacrilegious. But despite her opposition, she was in the end successful and inspired countless others in the process through her selfless work and her desire to help others.

Mike Wallace states before the interview that this interview is unrehearsed, uncensored interview on the issue of Birth Control. Mr. Wallace describes Margaret Sanger as a women who violated conventions and changed powerful oppositions to lead the Birth Control Movement in the United States. Even though he states her accomplishments or contribution to society Wallace does not forget the mentions that she was thrown into jail not once but eight different time for this cause. Mr. Wallance explain that this interview it the hear Margaret’s answer for her views on if Birth Control is a sin and why she fought for this movement.

Sanger wanted to put birth control more on the market, this is when she decided to make it known in pharmacies and let women use it in hospitals. After world war 1 is when she really started to kick off birth control. She started to reach out to black women of any age, making the stand that she did to slaves she became known for being racist and starting birth control. She had finally won everyone's hearts with planned parenthood in 1939, (when it was founded) and she was no longer a radical feminist. Her role in birth control became largely horrific after world war 2 and she had to change her aspects on birth control. She had decided to travel to many other countries including Brazil, Asia, Russia, and Korea to share about birth control. This act make birth control way more known where just about every doctor was deciding to put it in hospitals. Sanger wasn't alone in this fight for birth control, she also had many other feminist along her side. First was Katharine Dexter McCormick, She gave away thousands of dollars just for birth control to be discovered. Next is British feminist Edith How-Martyn to serve as a clearinghouse for information. Last but not least is Dr. John Rock, he was the support for all of the doctors at that time to accept birth control into hospitals and any patents care routine.

Margaret Sanger, a women’s health activist, was one of the most influential women of her time. She was one of the first people to open a birth control clinic, along with writing multiple books on the health and values of women. She was also one of the first people to change the way Americans thought of women. She wanted more respect not just for herself, but the million of women around her. Sanger established the first birth control clinic in the United States, founded the Birth Control League in 1921, and fought for the legalization of the birth control pill.