While different forms of contraception have been used throughout history and in many different cultures, the term “birth control” was coined in America in the early 1900s by Margaret Sanger, foundress of the the American Birth Control League (ABCL). “We who advocate Birth Control…lay all our emphasis upon stopping not only the reproduction of the unfit but upon stopping all reproduction…” –Margaret Sanger, “Birth Control and Racial Betterment” (Birth Control Review, Feb 1919, pg 11). The ABCL changed its name in 1939 to the Birth Control Federation of America and in 1942 changed it again to Planned Parenthood Federation, perhaps to disassociate themselves with the revelations of moral travesties committed by Nazi Eugenics policies .
Margaret Sanger and many others in the 1920s and 30s promoted a “Malthusian” philosophy of population control, first introduced by economist Thomas Malthuse. Malthusians embraced the idea that humanity was quickly approaching a size which the earth could no longer sustain. Therefore birth control (among other more heinous practices such as forced sterilization and abortion) was deemed an appropriate solution.
The flawed concept of overpopulation in conjunction with Darwinian social engineering for a ‘cleaner race’ conspired to produce a political agenda that promoted the mass application of birth control and the undermining of the family unit. The early targets for efforts to slow the growth of the population were the “unfit” and “undesirables.” These were defined by Malthusians as immigrants, the poor, indigents, minorities, the ‘feebleminded,’ and went on to include violent criminals and girls who had lost their virginity.
The roots of birth control in this country have a decidedly anti-family, anti-Christian origin. Margaret Sanger once said, “Birth control…is calculated to undermine the authority of Christian Churches. I look forward to seeing humanity free someday of the tyranny of Christianity . . . .”
Fast Forward . . .
Obamacare was deemed constitutional by the Supreme Court in 2011 and forces all individuals to carry health insurance coverage or be penalized. Obamacare mandates that all health insurance coverage include birth control and abortifacient contraceptives. This means that Christians and others who oppose the draconian worldview that gave rise to birth control and abortion in America will be forced to fund it, or suffer penalties via the Internal Revenue Service. In response to the overwhelming tide of First Amendment Violation lawsuits, the Obama administration provided a small window of accommodation set to expire January 1st, 2014 so that those who had moral objections could change their apparently flawed views and comply with the law as it is written. Americans United for Life in a recent analysis stated, “The Obamacare mandate forces countless family businesses, religious organizations, and other non-profits into a terrible set of choices:
1) Violate deeply held belief by complying with the mandate
2) Resist the mandate and face federal fines of up to $100 per employee per day
3) Drop health insurance altogether, harming employees, and pay a roughly $2000 annual fine per employee for doing so (Obamacare clarification video).
Then Andrew Cuomo this past legislative session attempted to pass a bill called the Reproductive Health Act (RHA) that would have enshrined contraception and abortion as fundamental rights. The scary thing about a right is its eventual corollary, duty. This bill would have reduced the standard of care for women permitting non-doctors to perform surgical procedures as well as create an environment where not referring for contraception and abortion could be grounds for discrimination lawsuits. The bill was narrowly defeated thanks to your support.
Obamacare and Cuomo’s RHA have this in common: the promotion of Margaret Sanger’s ideology, which is both anti-family and anti-Christian, by making it illegal to practice a worldview that runs counter their own in your healthcare choices. This ideology undermines the family unit through the promotion of “sex without responsibility” and also subjugates future generations to the tyranny of immediate gratification. Sanger’s fundamental philosophy is still, sadly, very much alive today.