Alan Frank Guttmacher (19 May 1898 – 18 March 1974) was an American

obstetrician/gynecologist Obstetrics and Gynaecology (also spelled as Obstetrics and Gynecology; abbreviated as Obs and Gynae, O&G, OB-GYN and OB/GYN) is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics (covering pregnancy, childbirth, and ...

. He served as president of

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

and vice-president of the

American Eugenics Society American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. Guttmacher founded the American Association of Planned Parenthood Physicians, now known as the

Association of Reproductive Health Professionals The Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP) was a non-profit organization founded in 1963 by Alan Frank Guttmacher. It was a membership association of nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, pharmacists, physician assistants, physici ...

, as a forum for physicians to discuss the

birth control pill The combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP), often referred to as the birth control pill or colloquially as "the pill", is a type of birth control that is designed to be taken orally by women. The pill contains two important hormones: progesti ...

and other advances in the field. He founded the Association for the Study of Abortion in 1964. He was a member of the Association for Voluntary Sterilization. The

Guttmacher Institute The Guttmacher Institute is a research and policy NGO that aims to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights worldwide. This research organization was started in 1968 and works to study, educate, and advance sexual and reproductive health ...

is named after him. In 1973, Guttmacher was one of the signers of the

Humanist Manifesto II ''Humanist Manifesto II'', written in 1973 by humanists Paul Kurtz and Edwin H. Wilson, was an update to the previous ''Humanist Manifesto'' published in 1933, and the second entry in the ''Humanist Manifesto'' series. It begins with a statem ...

Family

Guttmacher was born in 1898 to Rabbi Adolf (Adolph) Guttmacher, and Laura (Oppenheimer) Guttmacher, German Jewish emigrants. His twin brother, Manfred Guttmacher, was an advisor to the Baltimore City's Supreme Bench as a psychiatrist. Their older sister, Dorothy Emma Guttmacher, owned the Tudor Flower Shops at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Alan married Leonore Gidding in 1926 and together they raised three daughters, Ann (Loeb), Sally (Holtzman), and Susan (Green).

Professional history

Guttmacher was a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the Hopkins Medical School. He served as Director of Obstetrics and Gynecology and was appointed Obstetrician and Gynecologist-In-Chief at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York for approximately ten years. In 1962, ten years after moving to New York, he became president of the

Planned Parenthood Federation Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is consi ...

. He extended this endeavor by founding the Association of Planned Parenthood Physicians which included scientists and medical practitioners. From 1964 to 1968, he served as Chairman of the Medical Committee of the

International Planned Parenthood Federation The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is a global non-governmental organisation with the broad aims of promoting sexual and reproductive health, and advocating the right of individuals to make their own choices in family ...

. Guttmacher was also a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists, the American Fertility Society, New York Academy of Medicine, and the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists."Dr. Alan Guttmacher dies." ''The Baltimore Sun''. 19 March 1974.

References

External links

"Who was Alan Guttmacher?" (from the Guttmacher Institute)Alan F. Guttmacher papers, 1860, 1898-1974. H MS c 155. Harvard Medical Library, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Boston, Mass.
American eugenicists American people of German-Jewish descent 1898 births 1974 deaths American birth control activists Johns Hopkins Hospital Presidents of Planned Parenthood Jewish humanists Activists from Maryland American twins Park School of Baltimore alumni Members of the National Academy of Medicine {{abortion-stub