Margaret Sanger was a nurse in the early 1900s who advocated for women's access to birth control. She witnessed the suffering of women seeking abortions while working in the slums of New York City. Inspired to help women, she introduced modern contraceptives to the US from Europe and launched a nationwide campaign for birth control. Her advocacy led to a decline in pregnancy-related mortality and empowered women to choose when to have children. However, her association with eugenics groups opposing certain races and populations damaged her movement's reputation. Nonetheless, Sanger's contribution was crucial for advancing women's reproductive rights and public health outcomes at a time of major social change in the US.

1. Running Head: MARGARET SANGER 1
MARGARET SANGER 4
Margaret Sanger Outline
HCA 415
The Outlines Answers all the questions below use this outline to
complete your FINAL project:
· Describe your selected person’s experience.
· Analyze the climate of the time period in terms of political,
socioeconomic, environmental, and technological context in
which this person worked.
· Examine the personal beliefs of your person that prompted this
work.
· Examine how this individual overcame any adversities to
succeed.
· Describe the final outcome of this individual’s contribution to
community or public health.
· Explain what this person’s contribution did for overall
community or public health at the time.
· Explain why this contribution was so important at that
particular point in history.

2. Margaret Sanger
She wasborn on September 14, 1884 in corning, New York in
the United States of America. Her father was an activist who
championed for women’s right to vote and also fought for tax
reforms in the country which led to the family being labeled as
extremists by immediate neighbors. The family comprised of 11
siblings whom the mother took care of before succumbing to
tuberculosis in 1896. After graduating from Claverack College
at Hudson, New York she taught in New Jersey before returning
home to take care of her ailing mother before she died. Later
she trained as a nurse in White Plains, New York after
experiencing first hand medical inadequacy that was being
practiced in her community.
She began serving as a nurse in the slums of Lower East Side,
New York City where people lived in extremely poor conditions
before getting married to William Sanger in 1902. It was during
the period she was serving in the slums that she saw the
suffering undergone by pregnant women and also loss of life
while procuring abortion and was inspired to advocate for
management of births in the United States.
During that period, there was great transformation undergoing
in the country which was fueled by increased immigration of
people into the country. This produced fear among the locals
who deemed their traditional values in their society was being
undermined by the influx and the widening gap between the
wealthy and the poor. The government administration under
President Theodore Roosevelt in 1901, undertook major reforms
in governance in order to accommodate the major
transformation that industrialization was effecting to the people
as well as to ensure the government was more responsive to
issues pertain its people.
In that era, male dominance in the society was seen as a social

3. norm and hence women were discriminated against by being
denied the right to vote and also married women had to have
written consent from their husbands in some states in order to
enter into legal binding contracts. With reforms taking center
stage in the country, there was need to integrate women into the
workforce since the significant growth of big businesses paved
way to new departments being established in order to cater for
demand of products. Clerical and sales jobs were established
and offered to women and also women started being employed
in the factories as casual laborers. (McDonough, 1999)
With increased use of fuel as an alternative for steam and coal,
there was rapid growth in mechanization in America in the late
1800 and early 1900’s. Its effect was growth of urban centers in
areas where factories were located and also influx in people
who sort work in the factories. The need for economic power by
the government also facilitated the growth of industries and
movement of people during the period. With more women being
employed in factories and major business there was increased
pressure for the government to reform laws that would empower
women’s rights since women had become active in labor unions
and were advocating for their rights that were earlier suppressed
by the male dominated society.
With increased number of population in cities such as New
York, housing and living conditions of its people deteriorated
which led to emergence of slums such as Lower East Side which
accommodated people who had suffered from social injustices
such as class inequalities, racial and religious division.
Government provision for social services became inadequate
due to this rapid rate of expansion and this resulted to high
mortality rates being recorded.
Technological advancements in areas such as transportation
where steam engines and motorized boats were introduced, led
to need to produce more products in order to cater for the
increased demand since new markets were being established
with the ease of transportation effected by such innovation.

4. Similarly the abolishment of slavery increased demand for
products in the black community. (Engelman, 2015)
During her time in the slums, Sanger saw the effects of
malnutrition in children who had been left by their mothers at
home to go and work in the industries, young adults being
forced to go look for work to feed their families and persistent
requests for abortions from her patients. This led her to
advocate for better treatment of the poor by the society as well
as rights pertaining to women especially sexual rights for
women. At this time abortion was the only contraceptive being
commonly used as a measure of birth control. However it
changed when she first visited Europe with her family where
she gained knowledge on modern contraceptives such as
pessaries that were available there.
In collaboration with labor union clinics and doctors from
Europe she managed to introduce the contraceptives in the
United States through writing health articles regarding
reproduction and use of birth control pills that sought to
empower women in their rights to sexuality. (Sanger, 1919) She
was subsequently arrested in 1914 for her monthly magazine
(The Woman Rebel), which was deemed to be promoting sexual
indecency in the society in relation to women’s rights to
sexuality.
She fled trial to Britain but later returned in 1915 since here
advocacy had gained roots and there was emergence of a strong
movement that supported birth control and was appealing for
her case to be dropped from the courts. She began countrywide
campaigns for birth control and was successful since only the
Catholic Church was opposed to birth control agenda before the
protestant joined in the 1970s.
The fear for rapid growth of population in relation to what the
government would offer in the 1960s led to politician’s
endorsing birth control. This enabled the poor to have access to
the birth control contraceptives which were earlier a privilege
for the wealthy since more pro advocacy clinics mushroomed in
the populous areas that the poor resided. However, her

5. association with eugenists who sought the aid of birth control to
control population where the colored and the minority were
being targeted tarnished the birth control initiative as
population became wary of her intention. (Gordon)
Her contribution for birth control led to decline in mortality
rates occurring due to pregnancy in the society in the starting
from early 1920s. Women could now start having their say in
matters relating to sexuality and reproduction because they were
empowered in choosing when to have children or to prevent. It
also made it possible for the discovery of contraceptives such as
condoms that are commonly used today for the prevention of
unwanted pregnancies and transmission of sexually transmitted
diseases.
During her advocacy, she ignored race and class which
resonated well with the female mass. She was well known for
her mobilization of women who were affected by the same
predicament. This led to reduction of social injustices resulting
from race and social class. However religious beliefs have
clashed with this advocacy with catholic at the helm of it as it
opposes such practices from its followers as it is deemed to be
ungodly and against the Christian beliefs and practices.
(Malveaux, 2001)
References
Engelman, R. (2015, April 11). The Second Industrial
Revolution, 1870-1914. Retrieved from
http://ushistoryscene.com/article/second-industrial-revolution/
Gordon, L. (n.d.). Remembering Margaret Sanger's Legacy, One
Hundred Years Later. Retrieved from
https://www.oah.org/tah/issues/2014/november/margaret-sanger/
Malveaux, J. (2001). Sanger’s Legacy Is Reproductive Freedom
and Racism. Retrieved from
https://womensenews.org/2001/07/sangers-legacy-reproductive-
freedom-and-racism/
McDonough. (1999). Women Reformers in the Progressive Era.
Retrieved from

6. http://www.socialstudies.org/sites/default/files/publications/se/6
305/630507.html
Sanger, M. (1919). The Public Papers of Margaret Sanger: Web
Edition. Retrieved from
https://www.nyu.edu/projects/sanger/webedition/app/documents
/show.php?sangerDoc=143449.xml