January 09, 2002

Margaret Sanger's legacy lives on...

Posted by Scott at 10:11 PM

Margaret Sanger was the founder of the modern day Planned Parenthood, the nation's number one abortion provider. I was reading last week's issue of the Wanderer when I came across an article entitled "Women Not Fully Informed About Birth Control Pill, Thanks to the AMA". It's funny that many drugs we hear advertised on television will mention their side effects (in a subdued voice, of course). I believe it's required by law. Yet the AMA has voted not to tell women about the abortifacient mechanism of the birth control pill. The pill conditions a woman's uterus so that if fertilization does take place, the implantation of the fertilized egg does not take place. A detailed explanation can be found here .

A day earlier I was reading Family Foundations which had just come in the mail when I came across a letter sent in 1915 from Msgr. John Ryan to the Birth Control League (the early name of Planned Parenthood). Msgr. Ryan's strong affirmation of the traditional teaching against contraception was part and parcel of his fight for social justice. It's interesting to note that this letter was written at a time when even all the Protestant denominations spoke out against contraception. It would be 15 years before the first Protestant denomination would allow contraception as acceptable for extreme hardship cases. It was interesting to see the change in tone and discourse between now and then. Msgr. Ryan did not mince or couch his words.

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