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Advertisement for Margaret Sanger’s Clinic, 1916. Collection of Ann Lewis and Mike Spondell, New York University, The Margaret Sanger Papers Project.
Background
For the first half of United States history, the question of family planning was left largely in the hands of women. But in the late 1800s growing concerns about the rise of immigrant populations led to new laws that restricted women’s access to birth control and abortions, as well as to information about these options. This did not stop middle-class and wealthy women from finding the services they needed to control when and how often they had children. But working-class and poor women did not have the same access to resources and suffered accordingly.
Activists Margaret Sanger, Ethel Byrne, and Fania Mindel believed that all women deserved to have control over their reproductive decisions, regardless of their wealth. In October 1916 they opened the nation’s first birth control clinic to protest what they saw as unfair laws. They chose the poor Jewish and Italian neighborhood of Brownsville, Brooklyn as the location for their clinic, which provided information and contraception to any married woman who came in for help.
The clinic was an instant success, a testament to how desperate working-class and poor women were for family planning services. Margaret, Ethel, and Fania managed to serve 488 women in ten days before the police shut down the clinic and arrested them for distributing illegal materials. Many Brownsville families testified in their court cases, sharing how badly their services were needed in the Brownsville community, but the prosecutor used this testimony as further evidence of their crimes. All three activists were found guilty. Fania was fined, and Ethel and Margaret were both sentenced to thirty days in prison. Ethel went on hunger strike to raise awareness for the birth control movement, which led to prison guards force-feeding her through her nose. To garner attention, Margaret spent her time in prison answering letters from supporters. Margaret appealed her case in 1918. The court found her guilty again but ruled that doctors in New York State could prescribe contraception to married women. This was a big step forward, but the strongest laws preventing access to birth control stayed in place for decades to come.
About the Resources
This flyer was distributed by Margaret Sanger, Ethel Byrne, and Fania Mindell before the opening of their Brownsville birth control clinic. It repeats the same information in three languages: English, Yiddish, and Italian. The flyer was effective. There was a long line of women waiting for the clinic when it opened on the first day.
Vocabulary
- contraception: A device or medication used to prevent pregnancy.
- hunger strike: A form of political protest in which participants refuse to eat until certain demands are met.
Discussion Questions
- This flyer is in English, Yiddish, and Italian. What does this tell us about the Brownsville neighborhood and who Margaret Sanger, Ethel Byrne, and Fania Mindell hoped to serve through their clinic?
- According to this flyer, why should married women use birth control? Do you think this is an effective argument? Why or why not?
- Many women knew that seeking birth control help was illegal, yet they were eager to visit the clinic and testify at the very public trials that followed. What does this tell us about the women the clinic served?
- Historians argue that Margaret Sanger and her colleagues opened the clinic to do more than help women in Brownsville. What might their objectives have been?
Suggested Activities
- APUSH Connection: 7.4: The Progressives
- AP Government Connection: 3.9: Due process and the right to privacy
- Raising a family and working for wages was a balancing act many women faced. Connect this advertisement to the images of mothers at work by Lewis Hine.
- Connect the activism of Margaret Sanger and her colleagues to the Supreme Court opinion in Muller v. Oregon, which stated that women’s reproductive rights were a matter of public interest.
- Margaret Sanger was not the only famous activist to fight for access to birth control. Read Emma Goldman’s life story to learn about another advocate for reproductive rights.
- To learn more about the long history of reproductive rights in the US, see Life Story: Asenath Smith, Abortion Debate, and Life Story: Ann Trow Lohman, aka Madame Restell.
Themes
DOMESTICITY AND FAMILY; ACTIVISM AND SOCIAL CHANGE
