Woman and the New Race

Are overburdened mothers justified in their appeals for contraceptives or abortions?... Will anyone... dare to say to these women that they should go on bringing helpless children in to the world to share their misery?... To say to these women that they should continue their helpless breeding of the helpless is stupid brutality. -from "Avoiding Childbirth" An iconic figure in the fight for reproductive rights for women in America, Margaret Sanger was a powerful voice in the early years of the 20th century. This 1920 book is Sanger's cry for the legalization of birth control and the education of women about their own bodies. With a fiery passion, she discusses: . women's struggle for freedom . the wickedness of creating large families . contraceptives or abortion? . legislating woman's morals . and more. An important record of the beginnings of the feminism in the modern era, Sanger's words remain vital and necessary at a time when women's control over their bodies continues to be challenged. American activist MARGARET HIGGINS SANGER (1879-1966) was an early advocate of birth control; she served as president of the International Planned Parenthood Federation from 1952 to 1959. She also wrote Happiness in Marriage (1926) and her autobiography (1938).