The Birth Control Pill | But Can It Be Done? | S16-E1
American Innovations
Audible
4.6 • 4.1K Ratings
🗓️ 13 June 2019
⏱️ 44 minutes
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Summary
When Margaret Sanger opened her birth control clinic in 1916, she knew she was breaking the law. Distributing contraceptives, or even literature about birth control, was a jailable offense. But she didn’t care. As a nurse, Sanger had sworn to devote herself to the welfare of those in her community. And in the early 1900s, that meant doing something about the public health crisis caused by unplanned pregnancies.
At the turn of the century, many women were having babies with no break in between pregnancies. It put them at risk for anemia, and uterine ruptures. Miscarriages were common. Of the children that were born, one in five died during the first five years of life.
To Sanger, the solution was clear: a safe, effective, discrete contraceptive for women—a pill, no bigger than an aspirin. At the time, the idea seemed more radical than putting a man on the moon. And in some ways, developing it would be even more difficult.
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Transcript
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| 0:15.0 | This episode of American Innovations contains some sexual content and is not suitable for everyone. Please be advised. |
| 0:30.0 | It's October 26, 1916, a cold, damp day in Brownsville, Brooklyn. |
| 0:38.0 | A young nurse named Margaret Sanger hurries along the sidewalk. |
| 0:42.0 | She keeps her head down as she walks and pulls her hat down tight around her fiery red hair. |
| 0:47.0 | It's best not to call attention to herself. |
| 0:51.0 | Brownsville is a working class neighborhood, one of the most remote and poorest sections of the city. |
| 0:58.0 | The people who live here are mostly immigrants, mainly Russian and German Jews, |
| 1:02.0 | but recently Italians have arrived too. |
| 1:05.5 | Almost no one speaks English. |
| 1:07.9 | Large families are packed into dark gloomy tenement buildings. |
| 1:12.3 | The adults work long hours for little pay in the nearby factories. |
| 1:16.5 | The children play on unpaved streets which are filled with raw sewage and garbage. |
| 1:22.2 | As Sanger approaches her destination, she can already see the cluster of empty baby carriages parked |
| 1:28.6 | outside the nondescript storefront. |
| 1:31.9 | It has no sign, no indication of what goes on inside. Just an address. 46 Amboy Street. |
| 1:40.0 | Still, it's attracted a crowd. A group of women sit on a wrought iron bench waiting for their turn to enter. |
| 1:48.0 | Sanger passes the line and enters the clinic, suspecting another long day is ahead of her. Inside, her |
| 1:55.5 | suspicions are confirmed. The waiting room is packed to the gills with women. |
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