Who was Margaret Sanger?
Margaret Sanger was the founder Planned Parenthood and opened the first clinic in the US in Brooklyn, New York back in 1916. Trained as a public health nurse, Sanger often treated women who after years of unwanted pregnancies and childbearing were dying from self-inflicted abortions. Moved to action by the cases of preventable maternal mortality, Sanger began to advocate for a woman’s right to chose the size of her family and began the reproductive health choice movement in the US. To learn more about Margaret Sanger and Planned Parenthood of New York click here.
WHAT’S SHE GOT TO DO WITH MY LIFE? Margaret Sanger (1879 – 1966) was the founder of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). As an activist in the birth-control and population-control movements, she was one of the most influential figures of the twentieth century. Many questions have been raised concerning her real views on eugenics, race, and human rights, and it is hard to separate the facts from fiction. The information presented here is drawn directly from her writings, with references. Sanger’s obsession with eugenics and racism was clearly presented in her involvement of planning the First World Population Conference which took place in Geneva in 1926. She was not mentioned on the actual program, but instead worked behind the scenes and initiated the “Negro Project” in 1939. The objective of the “project” was to infiltrate the black community by presenting birth control as a health option for women. LAWSON@Bla
