Margaret Sanger: A Passionate Advocate For Women's Rights

Margaret Sanger was a controversial, but passionate advocate for women’s rights, and for women’s overall freedom. Her many radical ideas, such as on women’s freedom, abortion and infantside, the consequences of large families, and the devious role played by the church and state in preventing contraception has forever changed the world. She was, and is still today a polarizing public figure, and her ideology is still equally as polarizing. Her legacy lives on today through Planned Parenthood. For Sanger, for a woman to truly be considered free, she must have absolute control over her own body and reproductive health, as well as be free to chose whether or not to become a mother, and be able to limit the number of children she bears. Sanger famously declared, “No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body. She builds upon that assertion by declaring, “No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother.” When a woman has attained that right, she is free to live her life as she chooses. Sanger goes on to further argue her claim about the key to freedom lying in women having complete control of their reproductive health; “Woman’s desire for freedom is born of the feminine spirit, which is the absolute, elemental, inner urge of womanhood. It is the strongest force in her nature; it cannot be destroyed; the chief obstacles to the normal expression of this force are undesired pregnancy and the burden of unwanted children. These obstacles have always been and always will be swept aside by a considerable proportion of women. Driven by the irresistible force within them, they will always seek wider freedom and greater self-development, regardless of the cost.” For Sanger, this is the highest priority1 and highest mark of a generation of truly free women, being in control of their own bodies and reproductive health. When this is obtained, women will have the true freedom to live their best life. In regards to the controversial topics of infanticide and abortion, Margaret Sanger, to the surprise of many did not advocate for these practices to be taking place, except for in the case of medical necessity, but instead pleaded for birth control to take their place, so that they no longer be needed. …show more content…
Sanger proclaims to her readers; “ (Abortion) is an abhorrent operation which kills the tenderness and delicacy of womanhood, even as it may kill or injure the body.” She goes on to explain that infanticide in itself has been occurring since ancient times, and still in more modern times and is an outcry of womankind for freedom. She sees the solution to these problems, both abortion and infanticide as educating all women on how/why to use the scientific contraceptive methods and devices available to them. According to Sanger, these practices (both infanticide and abortion) are a horror that would become obsolete with the correct knowledge and practice of birth control for all who needed it. In a survey conducted by Margaret Sanger herself in 1920, 20% of all working class women had undergone an abortion at some point in their lives. Another study that same year revealed that 10-23% of educated middle class women have had an abortion. With the consideration of various methods of birth control available at that time, condoms, spermicidal, diaphragms, sponges, rhythm method, withdrawal method, and of course permanent sterilization, one can see how many of those pregnancies that resulted in abortions could have, and could still likely be prevented in the first place. And when used consistently and correctly, one can find evidentiary support for Sanger’s claims on birth control being the solution to eliminating the need for infanticide and abortion. Condoms had an 84% rate of success, diaphragm 88% withdrawal 78% rhythm method 78%, withdrawal 78% sponge 60% 80% spermacide 74% and permanent sterilization 100%. These all present just cause to believe in Sanger’s ideology of using birth control as the prevention against infanticide and abortion. Sanger asserts in Women and the New Race that large families are evil, causing perennial suffering to both the nation at large, and the family itself, gravely impacting each member. Sanger paints a vivid picture of her passionate stance against large, “overbreeding” families. As she describes, the father cannot