Planned Parenthood
Radical: Margaret Sanger 1879 – 1966
The discussion on “Birth Control” is a very sensitive topic due to the obvious benefits of being able to do exactly what Margaret Sanger promoted publicly with her views on family planning. A large population of American Women chooses birth control to prevent unwanted pregnancies. We can all agree that unwanted pregnancies could cause a problem especially from teens. This however isn’t what I wish to debate. I wish to explore the sociological implications of birth control and its negative impact on society.
I must admit that this topic was very vague to me when researching for all of the cogs in “The Machine”. At first the cog of Margaret Sanger and “Planned Parenthood” was a weak and somewhat insignificant one. After doing my research and much pondering, I found that Margaret Sanger could be one of the most important cogs to discuss. At a time when women’s suffrage and civil rights were so prominent, Margaret Sanger took stage and transformed American society by liberating the carnal ideas of sexuality. It has been my exposure to a society so accustomed to sexual overtones in media, evolving American culture, and the candid conversation between adults and young adults which has desensitized me.
So let’s go a little deeper into the discussion with several questions. What is the purpose of birth control? Pretty silly question wouldn’t you say. Well think about it. It is to allow consenting adults to engage in sexual activity while lowering the risk of pregnancy. I would also ask you, what is the purpose of sexuality? I know… I know… another silly question. Seriously think about it. The purpose of sexuality is to create life. Birth Control yields the purpose of sexual acts to carnal pleasure rather than to create life. So is the act of intercourse for the sake of self pleasure a bad thing. No. If it wasn’t pleasurable would we be pro-creating? It is obvious that pleasure has a purpose as well.
So what are the consequences of this? Well they are obvious. If you take away the consequence of a pregnancy it allows intercourse to require less responsibility. The result is more promiscuous behavior. The most damaging is the promiscuous behavior between teens. I know that this debate causes some conflict with more than most. So this comes down to whether sexual activity, with the aid of birth control is appropriate for married couples. This is a moral question that only you can ask yourself. I would simply say that the sexual relationship between husband and wife is a natural relationship which allows the nature of our body to express God’s number one purpose for us here on earth which is to create life with love.
So would it be correct to say that if birth control steers the purpose of sexuality from creating life to an act in self pleasure, that it could damage the sanctity of intercourse? Would it be safe to say that steering the purpose in this direction would also be bringing the sexual experience to a more personal and even a more selfish act? These are tough questions which I don’t wish to answer here but are questions which offer a great vantage point to observe human sexuality from.
So to look further into the repercussions of Margaret Sanger’s legacy of Planned Parenthood, let’s look at some statistics. Surprisingly, Margaret Sanger succeeded in one of her goals, which was to eliminate unwanted pregnancies. Since the 1970’s birth rates amongst teens has dropped significantly as well as abortions. Could it be the due to birth control? I would speculate that his has a lot to do with it. Here is a good reference to back up my claims.
What is a very interesting statistic as well are the marriage rates in the United States. If you look at this resource, you can see that the rate of marriages actually drops very slowly since the 1940’s.
If you look at the rate of population growth you will see a huge increase in population from 150 million people in the 1950’s to estimate 300 million in 2010. It is interesting to note that marriage rates are dropping as the overall population is increasing. With a society which is losing respect for the importance of families or family values, this is no surprise. With television shows depicting divorced couples and single parents as a reflection of what people can relate to, it shows a sharp contrast to the days of “Leave it to Beaver”. Family structure has been interrupted with men’s increasing disrespect for women, the women’s liberation movement, and a culture that simply blocks human reproduction or exterminates life to rid them of a perceived mistake.
I must also mention abortion. Planned Parenthood and its affiliates is the biggest contributor to abortions in the United States. They also issue contraception, birth control, perform pregnancy testing; provide sexual education, and many other services. Previously, I wrote a post on abortion if you wish to read further comments on the subject here.
So what is the overall purpose of Planned Parenthood? The answer to this question is best answered by its founder, Margaret Sanger.
Birth control aims: “to create a race of thoroughbreds,” Margaret Sanger, Birth Control Review, Nov. 1921 (p. 2)
“More children from the fit, less from the unfit — that is the chief aim of birth control.” (Birth Control Review, May 1919, p. 12)
“…human weeds,’ ‘reckless breeders,’ ’spawning… human beings who never should have been born.” Margaret Sanger, Pivot of Civilization, (referring to immigrants and the poor)
“Those least fit to carry on the race are increasing most rapidly. … Funds that should be used to raise the standard of our civilization are diverted to maintenance of those who should never have been born.”—Margaret Sanger, Pivot of Civilization, p.279.
“The marriage bed is the most degenerating influence in the social order,” –Sanger, (p.23)
“The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We do not want 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.” -Margaret Sanger, letter to Clarence Gamble, Dec. 10,1939. - Sanger manuscripts, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College.
…and there is more that you will find in a simple Google search if you wish to find more. Margaret Sanger was a huge eugenics supporter. The idea of engineering a society of thoroughbreds seems like a common thread between all the radicals that I have mentioned recently. There is a purpose to this. Who ever has the political power to wield the wand of eugenics can create a society to their liking much like Adolf Hitler tried to do with his Aryan race.
Margaret Sanger fits so perfectly in the structure of “The Machine” for many of the reasons listed above. It is most important to understand that her relevance to “The Machine” is through her destruction of the family. It is no secret that the backbone to a solid family structure is the dedicated mother’s nurturing abilities. Women like Margaret Sanger destroyed the beauty and extreme importance that mother’s play in our society by demanding that women be equal to men when in fact it is physically, physiologically, and psychologically impossible. It would be ridiculous for a man to believe that he would have the nurturing ability of a woman as it would be just as ridiculous to think that the physically strongest woman could be as strong as the physically strongest man. There is no disputing our extreme differences and the roles that we must play to nurture a society of respectful families.
As the roles of women were driven away from the home by a blooming women’s liberation movement, children slowly lost the nurturing home. Children soon became more influenced by television and their friends while mothers joined the fathers in the workforce. With an influx of women to the workforce, wages gradually dropped which eventually made the single income family rare and almost obsolete. Fathers and mothers roles seemed to equalize. Men had to learn to be nurturers and women had to learn to be providers. This dynamic change created a paradox to the natural functions of a male and female by trying to equalize something that wasn’t ever designed to be equalized.
One must understand that the furthest reaching roots of a republic are the individuals. These individuals need to be a moral and ethical being. Morals are taught by a nurturing mother and a supportive father. A community is a moral one when it is made up of a collection of moral families. The roots of many communities create a moral state. A collection of fifty moral states make up a moral nation. With a moral nation the people govern themselves. If the family is destroyed then moral breakdown occurs. There then is the need for the people to be governed due to lack of self-governing.
Margaret Sanger is relevant because she poisoned the nation at its roots by changing the dynamics of family roles. Over the years the family structure broke down and the morality of the nation disappeared. It is now that we see children killing, stealing, and raping. If we are to stop evil in our world we must save our families.
