Margaret Sanger (1879-1966)

Sanger thought no female would ever be free and independent without control over having babies.  This was such an outrageous idea that Sanger got thrown in jail in 1916 after opening the nation's first birth control center in New York City. Her subsequent trial generated enormous support for her cause. Sanger’s mother had 18 pregnancies in 22 years and Sanger resolved that she would not repeat her mother’s history and decided to help educate women about their bodies and birth control. She had many struggles getting information out as access to contraception information was prohibited on the grounds of obscenity by the 1873 Federal Comstock Law. Sanger’s several judicial cases helped legalize contraception in the United States.  As a nurse, Sanger saw the awful outcomes of so called back-alley abortions which spurred her on to found the American Birth Control League, which later became Planned Parenthood. In her 70’s she got together philanthropist Barbara McCormick and biologist Gregory Pincus who developed the first birth control pill.