--- description: Margaret Sanger is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century. title: Margaret Sanger: 100 Women of the Year image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc1ff8b4e3fc4d07a/698a0afa16d8846a70c37d04/social-1925_Margaret-Sanger.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 1925: Margaret Sanger Mar 5, 2020 11:33 AM CUT  Buy the cover art→ Buy the cover art→Illustration by Matt Smith for TIME; GPA/Getty by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2020 11:33 AM CUT In March 1925, one of America’s most famous women took the stage at an international [birth control](https://time.com/3680215/birth-control-history/ "undefined") conference to argue for “the health and happiness of the Unborn Child.” Though she joked about a civil service exam for would-be parents, [Margaret Sanger](https://time.com/4065338/margaret-sanger/ "undefined") made a case for birth control as an alternative to both abortion and “enforced, enslaved maternity.” Already, Sanger had defied laws that rendered both contraception, and talking about birth control, crimes. She became a subject of gossip and outrage for her public clinic and campaign to make birth control a topic of conversation. [**Buy the cover art→**](https://fineartamerica.com/featured/margaret-sanger-1925-time.html "undefined") [Sanger’s association with the eugenics movement](https://time.com/4081760/margaret-sanger-history-eugenics/ "undefined") would ultimately compromise her reputation. She argued that birth control could be used to weed out “defective” babies. It was part of an ongoing alignment with those who thought birth control could be used to breed more desirable traits into the population—a move possibly informed by her desperation to popularize contraception. Historians still tussle over Sanger’s complicated legacy. What isn’t at issue is her influence: Sanger founded the predecessor to [Planned Parenthood](https://time.com/4527330/planned-parenthood-100-history/ "undefined"), and by helping legalize birth control, she helped women gain control over their bodies and futures. _—Erin Blakemore_ _Blakemore is a journalist and the author of_ [The Heroine’s Bookshelf](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061958778/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time037-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0061958778&linkId=90176c94ffa8bd78c7b61c4134d84959 "undefined") --- _This article is part of_ [_100 Women of the Year_](https://time.com/100-women-of-the-year/ "undefined")_, TIME’s list of the most influential women of the past century. Read more_ [_about the project_](https://time.com/5793734/time-100-women-of-the-year-issue/ "undefined")_, explore the_ [_100 covers_](https://time.com/5793732/time-100-women-of-the-year-covers/ "undefined") _and sign up for our_ [_Inside TIME newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletters?newsletter%5Fname=INSIDE%5FTIME&source=article-woy-footer "undefined") _for more._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5792686/margaret-sanger-100-women-of-the-year/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5792686/margaret-sanger-100-women-of-the-year/"},"headline":"1925: Margaret Sanger","datePublished":"2020-03-05T11:33:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T08:19:58.355Z","description":"Margaret Sanger is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century.","url":"https://time.com/5792686/margaret-sanger-100-women-of-the-year/","keywords":["Women of the Year"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc1ff8b4e3fc4d07a/698a0afa16d8846a70c37d04/social-1925_Margaret-Sanger.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc1ff8b4e3fc4d07a/698a0afa16d8846a70c37d04/social-1925_Margaret-Sanger.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SOCIAL - Women of the Year: 1925_Margaret-Sanger","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5792686/margaret-sanger-100-women-of-the-year/","name":"1925: Margaret Sanger"}}]}] ```