History of Birth Control in the United States
Evolution of the Current Policy
1873 — The Comstock Act makes it illegal to send any “obscene, lewd, and/or lascivious” materials through the mail, including contraceptive devices and information. 1916 — Margaret Sanger opens America’s first family planning clinic in Brooklyn, New York, and is arrested for distributing information on contraception. 1918 — New York Court of Appeals Judge Frederick E. Crane issues a ruling allowing doctors to provide contraceptive advice to married women for “the cure and prevention of disease.” 1921 — Sanger founds the American Birth Control League, which later becomes the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. 1923 — Sanger opens the first…
