Before legalized abortion in 1973, terminating a pregnancy (unless the pregnancy caused danger to the mother’s life) was illegal. Many men and women fought to change these laws. Margaret Sanger was one of the most recognized advocates for abortions legalization. Sanger founded Planned Parenthood as well as created a program called The Negro Project in 1939.1 The program had a eugenic purpose.2 It encouraged African American women to have abortions by only putting illegal clinics in predominately black neighborhoods.3 The Negro Project promoted abortion to leaders in the black community by telling them family planning would be empowering and bring respect to the black community from those who looked down on them.4 For these reasons, many …show more content…
The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members .16
Sanger also offered black physicians, journalists, and social workers membership on The American Birth Control League advisory board.17 The first reason that many believe abortions legalization is an attempt to further black genocide is the secrecy that has followed the effort and its associated organizations. Sanger eventually decided to change the name of The American Birth Control League to Planned Parenthood after people became suspicious of The American Birth Control League.18 This is an example of how the organization went to great lengths to avoid suspicion. Sanger and her associates often used code words (that were used by slave owners in the past) in their communication and referred to black people as “feeble-minded,” “unfit,” and “immoral.19 They chose these words because they can be used without gaining the suspicion that they possess any underlying racial meaning. Some believe that because of this coded language, black genocide may have been the underlying goal of the ruling. Allies on the Supreme Court who gave support to the eugenic movement and voted accordingly would have made this possible. Abortions legalization did not occur until seven years after Margaret Sangers death, however, many believe that her efforts for black genocide led directly to the decision.20 Sanger worked tirelessly to further the goals of Planned Parenthood until she died, and her work passed on to others in the