How Did Margaret Sanger Use Contraceptives

Furthermore, in the 1800’s the Comstock law was created, that made birth control and other contraceptives “obscene and illicit” (PBS). Other states followed the Comstock Law as well, creating their own versions of that law which banned contraceptives. The strictest states were Massachusetts and Connecticut, people were not allowed to share information about contraceptives, or even use them. Even married couples were not allowed to use contraceptives with this law, if they were found using contraceptives, they could of been arrested as well as be sentenced to a year in prison. These laws stayed the same for many years, until Margaret Sanger came along. She is seen as an impactful women in reproductive health access. She challenged the Comstock law by opening the first
The experiences she had with these women inspired Sanger to focus more on contraceptive access rather than nursing. In addition, many states prohibited the sale of contraceptives, even if the woman was married. Not until 1965, were unmarried couples allowed to purchase contraceptives because of Griswold v. Connecticut. In the 1970’s, a professor named Appellee William Baird handed out contraceptive foam and articles to one of his female students. He was convicted in Massachusetts for distributing “a drug, medicine, instrument, or article for the prevention of contraception” (Caselaw). The message delivered during the court by Brennan, was that single people that were not allowed to have access to reproductive health was a violation of their Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth amendment, which “means that a state must treat an individual in the same manner as others in similar conditions and circumstances” (Cornell). Single women were discriminated against using contraceptives, and this showed that those women were not treated the same as women that were married or had a