Birth Control and Civil Liberties by Sanger, Margaret - 1940

Boston: The Community Church of Boston, 1940. First edition. Fine. Original printed wraps stapled at spine, measuring 5 x 7.25 inches and collating [2], 3-18, [2, blank]. The faintest offsetting along the front wrap near the spine; but in all a surprisingly bright, unmarked, tight copy of this delicate pamphlet. The only copy on the market, OCLC records only two copies in libraries.

Twenty-six years into the fight for women's reproductive rights, Margaret Sanger delivered this address at the Community Church of Boston. A non-sectarian organization, "its members and attendants were representative of the many denominations of Protestantism, Catholics, Jews, other sects, and those who have no formal religious connection"; and its goal was to "be a living symbol of the varied character of the larger community." It was, in this sense, the perfect gathering for Sanger to spread word of advancements in effective contraception that could improve not only individual women's lives but also conditions for society at large. For over two decades, "opponents of the movement have used virtually every means in violation of American civil liberties to destroy it," largely citing religious or moral objections. But in this space, in a diverse religious gathering, Sanger gained an opportunity to talk about the history of population increase, the social dangers of overpopulation, and the individual tolls to the health and life of women. Here, she asserted that listeners use reason; and she urges them to consider how ridiculous a proposition it would be to deny patients the best care for any other treatable ailment, such as malaria. "The issue here is clearly one of individual and medical rights. In this modern age...a doctor is guilty of a criminal offense if he utilizes the full resources of scientific advancement for the health and welfare of his patients -- he is turned into a criminal and a bootlegger in order to benefit humanity." Sanger further expresses clear goals as the leader of the movement: "Making contraceptive information available to all parents who need and want it."

The brief pamphlet is a powerful argument that denying women knowledge or decision-making abilities over their own bodies is a violation of their civil liberties. Yet as Sanger's address aims to deconstruct barriers regardless of women's economic classes, it also problematically disenfranchises and denigrates women with physical and mental disabilities; and it creates an argument from eugenics for the state violating those women's rights and forcing its own decisions upon them. Fine.