Margaret Sanger : Margaret Sanger And 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.

Attention Getter: “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.” –Margaret Sanger

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

     In addition to the articles she composed, Margaret Sanger decided to make sexual protection an option for all people. Previously, contraceptives and spermicides were only distributed to those who had information on the matter and access to them (Margaret 1). Sanger was past 80 when she saw the first marketing of a contraceptive pill, which she had helped develop, although legal change was slow. It took until 1965, a year before her death, for the Supreme Court to approve the use of contraception, but Sanger had accomplished a goal (Margaret 1). Now, contraceptives were available to all women, in all walks of life, regardless of their financial situations. In her mind, poor mental development was largely the result of poverty, overpopulation and the lack of attention to children. This was definitely one of the reasons why Sanger desired to make protection available to lower class citizens, along with the wealthy.

Throughout the speech, Sanger’s goal is to free all forced labor women and get rid of “...prevent unwilling motherhood,” which means she wants to free the unwanted mothers in society(25). She thinks if society does that, then the world could turn into a better place.

Sanger expresses her ideas of eugenics. In her publication, Margaret says that less people should have kids. Being the founder of Planned Parenthood, she thought that it was a good idea to distribute birth control and later provide abortions. Margaret forced sterilization because she thought it was a way to achieve “Racial Health” as her understanding. Another thing that Margaret believed in was that immigrants shouldn’t be allowed to have babies. Dating back to 1921, this shows how social and cultural division was alive and more powerful than ever even during the 1920’s. Just because a woman is a foreigner, shouldn’t close the doors to women that would want to form a family. Besides, race and culture shouldn’t separate mothers it should unite them so they can all have equal rights as soon to be

As a whole, the 1920’s was a symbol for social rebellion. Prior to the 1920’s, women were conservative in regards to how they dressed; most never showed any ankles or anything scandalous. During this time period, women began to now change. After watching several actresses in theaters act in movies, women began to act like the actresses that they watched. These women, called “Flappers,” drank, smoked, and dressed in what was scandalous back then. Women also rebelled against their traditional domestic roles. Before the 1920’s, women would just pretty much strictly stay at home or work in factories with poor conditions. During World War I though, women stepped up and had to work the higher paying jobs that the men worked, which opened many new doors to women. They now had jobs

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,

As described in the article, Sanger writes “No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her own body” (“The Right to One’s Body”). This idea was the central focus for Sanger, and the birth control movement. They believed women should have the right to their own bodies and should do with it as they please. Sanger then goes on to explain why she believes birth control is the best option to give women control of their bodies. Sanger writes that without access to birth control, “…she is still in a position to be enslaved through her reproductive powers” (“The Right to One’s Body”). This statement further supports the fact that without access to birth control, women are not completely free and control of themselves. To wrap up her argument, Sanger makes the statement “… she will never receive her freedom until she takes it for herself” (“The Right to One’s Body”). In summary, Sanger believes that women should have the right to their own body, and without that right they will always be controlled by men. Next, I would like to discuss the bias and opposition to her essay.

Margaret Sanger was born September 14, 1879 in Corning, New York. She moved to Greenwich, Village in 1910 where she started promoting Women’s Rights to Birth Control. In 1911 she became heavily influenced and moved to New York City where she joined and participated in radical groups and became a socialist, labor activist, and anarchist. She published her first paper which was “The Women Rebel and provided information on birth control and issues that were going on in the world. Margaret opened her first Birth Control clinic in 1916 which was located in Brownsville, New York. But, the clinic didn’t last for only a month because she was charged with public nuisance and was sentenced thirty days in prison. But, that didn’t stopped Sanger from

“Margaret Sanger was a crusader for female reproductive rights.” (Katzive, Caroline E. "Margaret Sanger: Demonstrating Leadership And Legacy Through Her Crusade For Women's Reproductive Rights." History Teacher 49.1 (2015): 127. Advanced Placement Source. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.) She was known for being pro-choice and felt as if women [had the right to] control the size of their families. (Katzive, Caroline E. "Margaret Sanger: Demonstrating Leadership And Legacy Through Her Crusade For Women's Reproductive Rights." History Teacher 49.1 (2015): 127. Advanced Placement Source. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.) Sanger introduced the term “birth control” to her time and also opened the very first birth control clinic that went on to be known as the “Planned Parenthood Federation of America.” Her principles were simple, a woman had a right to control her own body, every person should be able to decided whether or not they want a child, “every child should be wanted and loved, women are entitled to sexual pleasure and fulfillment” (McCormick Dexter Katherine: Opposition Claims of Margaret Sanger, Planned Parenthood Federation of America).

In order to break free from the shackles of predestined breeding, Sanger suggests that women “assert their right to voluntary motherhood.” Through thinking on their own, women can be in command of their own bodies and in turn determine how to live their lives. While this may seem absurd to a modern mind, this was truly innovative and dangerous for Sanger to suggest. She was challenging traditions that dated back hundreds of years. “Even as birth control is the means by