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Margaret Sanger (founder of Planned Parenthood) was.... well, it's complicated.
To begin with, I'll use quotes from NPR, so nobody can claim I'm only picking conservative sources - you can add your own cites and sources.
She was big on eugenics, that's a fact.
She was most definitely pro-abortion.
Was she racist?
Personally, I think NPR is being extraordinarily 'charitable' in describing her as "paternalistic", and playing down the racism.
But some of her statements oft quoted by anti-abortion people are out of context.
There's enough that she did for which she should be blamed without quoting her out of context, so I thought I'd start with what I think is the most abused misquote (or partial quote).
A quote I see often attributed to her is...
But note the comma, often left out.
From Time:
If you can't discuss this in a civil manner, I'll simply ask you to leave the thread. By posting in this thread, you agree to that condition, and your consent is thereby implied.
To begin with, I'll use quotes from NPR, so nobody can claim I'm only picking conservative sources - you can add your own cites and sources.
She was big on eugenics, that's a fact.
She was most definitely pro-abortion.
Was she racist?
In 1946, Sanger wrote about the importance of giving "Negro" parents a choice in how many children they would have.
"The Negro race has reached a place in its history when every possible effort should be made to have every Negro child count as a valuable contribution to the future of America," she wrote. "Negro parents, like all parents, must create the next generation from strength, not from weakness; from health, not from despair."
Her attitude toward African-Americans can certainly be viewed as paternalistic, but there is no evidence she subscribed to the more racist ideas of the time or that she coerced black women into using birth control. In fact, for her time, as the Washington Post noted, "she would likely be considered to have advanced views on race relations."
"The Negro race has reached a place in its history when every possible effort should be made to have every Negro child count as a valuable contribution to the future of America," she wrote. "Negro parents, like all parents, must create the next generation from strength, not from weakness; from health, not from despair."
Her attitude toward African-Americans can certainly be viewed as paternalistic, but there is no evidence she subscribed to the more racist ideas of the time or that she coerced black women into using birth control. In fact, for her time, as the Washington Post noted, "she would likely be considered to have advanced views on race relations."
Personally, I think NPR is being extraordinarily 'charitable' in describing her as "paternalistic", and playing down the racism.
But some of her statements oft quoted by anti-abortion people are out of context.
There's enough that she did for which she should be blamed without quoting her out of context, so I thought I'd start with what I think is the most abused misquote (or partial quote).
A quote I see often attributed to her is...
But note the comma, often left out.
From Time:
If you can't discuss this in a civil manner, I'll simply ask you to leave the thread. By posting in this thread, you agree to that condition, and your consent is thereby implied.
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