September 14, 1879 – September 6, 1966
Margaret Sanger was an extremely controversial figure during her lifetime (and some would say still to this day). However, she left a lasting legacy with her fight for reproductive freedom for women. She sought to provide women information to be able to make their own decisions about reproduction. She saw the effects on women who had given birth to numerous children – including her own mother who had 18 pregnancies and 11 live births1 – and began promoting contraception. In 1921, Sanger founded the American Birth Control League, which became known as the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
It was not until 1960, when Sanger was 80 years old, that the first oral contraceptive was approved for sale by the FDA and 1965, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Connecticut law prohibiting married couples from using contraception in Griswold v. Connecticut. 2
Margaret Sanger died on this day, 45 years ago, just shy of her 87th birthday. Regardless of how one feels about her work, you must commend her at least for her courage to pursue what she believed in.
1http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988152-1,00.html
2http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are/history-and-successes.htm#Sanger
