1. Margaret Sangerand Birth Control By Kara LaPierre

2. Early life She was born on September 14, 1879 She was the 6th child out of 11 Her father, Michael Higgins was an outspoken radical who taught Margaret to stand up for what she believed in and made sure she always spoke her mind At the age of 50, after 18 pregnancies, 11 live births and 7 miscarriages, her mom died from tuberculosis After her mother's death, Margaret decided she would become a nurse and care for pregnant women.

3. First Clinic In 1916 the first family planning clinic was opened in Brooklyn Many of the clinics were shut down for violating the law In 1923 the first “legal” clinic was opened and fully staffed

4. American Birth control League Margaret founded the ABCL in 1921 The goals of the ABCL were To educate the public about the dangers of unprotected sex To help mothers support their children and find homes if needed To conduct clinics that may give mothers harmless methods of birth control provide education, by means of literature and lectures, on the prevention of pregnancy

5. The Comstock Act It was illegal to send materials including contraceptive devices and information through the mail Also banned the distribution of information on abortion for educational purposes Margaret and a few other women were arrested for convicting the Act The Comstock Law was widely used to prosecute those who distributed information or devices for birth control In 1938, in a case involving Margaret Sanger, the Judge lifted the federal ban on birth control, effectively ending use of the Comstock Law to target birth control information and devices.

6. EugenicsIs the study and practice of selective breeding applied to humans with the aim of improving the species Sanger was a eugenicist and called her work "nothing more or less than the facilitation of the process of weeding out the unfit, of preventing the birth of defectives or those who will become defectives." -Woman and the New Race Darwin’s survival of the fittest Some people put her in the same category as Hitler (trying to get rid of the “unfit”) She believed that birth control served a great eugenic purpose by stopping those she described as the genetically "unfit" from reproducing. People think that Sanger wanted to sterilize those she designated as “unfit” and spreading birth control methods was the perfect way

7. More In 1927 She traveled to Switzerland, to help organize the first World Population Conference, whose aim was to further global acceptance of birth control Sanger continued to tour throughout Europe and Asia, trying to promote different types of contraceptives In 1950 the first oral contraceptive was developed (the Pill) Margaret helped to establish the research bureau that financed “the pill”

8. Today Many women today are on different types of birth control Planned Parent Hood is an organization that supports women and helps them to make the right decision for themselves Margaret’s ideas led to all the technology today for birth control methods