Margaret Sanger Became A Famous Nurse During The Early 1900's

Margaret Sanger was a famous nurse during the early 1900's whose contributions remain today . Margaret was born September 14, 1879 in Corning New York. Margaret at the time was named Margaret Louise Higgins. Margarets father Michael Hennessey Higgins studied medicine but worked instead as a stone cutter (Steinman, 1998). Her mother was what inspired to become a nurse and focus on women's health and reproduction. Margarets' mother Anne Higgins had been pregnant eighteen times in her life with only eleven of them being successful (Katz, 1995). Anne Higgins died at age forty-nine which Margaret blamed on the toll the multiple pregnancies had on her mother body. The death of her mother and her fathers belief of women's rights are what ultimately

During her nursing career she and her husband decided to move to New York city in 1910. At this time New York was known for its radical politics; something Margaret and her husband quickly joined in on. Margaret Sanger participated in strikes as well as became a member in the Women's Committee of the New York Socialist Party and the Liberal Club. In 1912 Margaret became spokeswomen for sex education especially for women. Not only did she work as a nurse in a poor immigrant community on the Lower East Side, she also published a newspaper column titled, "What every girl should know." While practicing as a nurse on the Lower East Side she came across many women who had attempted to self terminate their pregnancies or had under gone illegal abortions from questionable people. Margaret Sanger found the suffering these women endured unnecessary and made it her goal to do something about it. Margaret firmly believed being a mother is a choice. She also believed women should be able to choose to use contraceptives if they

Highly motivated in 1914 Margaret started a publication called "The Women Rebel." The publication was a monthly magazine that placed emphasis on women's rights to birth control. The publication made Margaret well known but also was a cause for controversy as it also contained articles and quotes that made Margaret seem cold and harsh against those she deemed less than adequate (Steinman, 1998). She was accused of being a eugenic. In a Eugenics publication issue a quote from her read,"The most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it." Many believe her harshness came from a passion for womens reproductive rights while others believed it came from a cruel worldview. She stated that, "every child should be a wanted child." Margaret Sanger would today most likely be considered racist as her opinions on abortion varied slightly with race. At the time of the publication, "The Women Rebel," it was illegal to send out contraceptive information through the mail. Her publication at the time was considered to contain obscene and immoral content. When the threat of a five year stint in jail became a likelihood Margaret Sanger fled to England but did not give up on her quest there. She continued to be an