Question: Did you know who opened the first birth control clinic in the United State and also was arrested for distributing information on contraception?
Answer: The one and only Margaret Sanger.
Margaret is a vital part of why women are afforded the right to birth control today. After being a nurse and witnessing the horrors and illnesses that come with self-induced abortions, she found interest in giving women the information and tools to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Margaret was the mother of her own family during the period of the Comstock Act. She launched a paper called the Woman Rebel which provided women with information of birth control. She was immediately charged for publishing “obscene materials” and fled the country for one year until the charges were dropped against her. She opened the first birth control clinic, a research institute dedicated to birth control, the first scientific journal dedicated to birth control, and a large advocacy organization dedicated to birth control. She lived just long enough to see the repeal of the Comstock Act. Margaret is responsible for so many advancements in women’s rights and the birth control movement.
LaRissa Robertson
I really liked your take on Margaret sanger. I cant imagine not having the option of birth control. I like that she began the birth control era by pointing out that it would lower the rates of illness caused by self abortions. Good blog....Can you imagine how over populated the US would be if she hadn't started to spread knowledge of birth control?
ReplyDelete-Alisha Drain
I really enjoyed this blog.It's astonishing to think that Margaret was put in jail just for trying to prevent women from illnesses due to self abortions. I believe that without her we would not see the strides that are being taken today to help women prevent unwanted pregnancies. She is a brave woman for doing what she did, and I think it is so neat that she took a stand and fought or something that women really needed and still need today. Not only did she help women of her time she helped women today as well.
ReplyDelete-Lyndie Whiting
This was a very good blog, I have never thought about how birth control came to be. I agree with Lyndie, all she was trying to do was prevent prengnancy and inform people. I can't believe they arrested her for this. She even fled the country to avoid getting in trouble. We have come such a long way since then, but we still have problems with men trying to make decions for women. It is our body, and we aren't really "free" if we do not get to decide what we can or can't do with it. I did not realize that birth control had such a history. Good job!
ReplyDelete~Melynie Northcott