The Birth Control Council of America (BCCA) was a short-lived organization that was established 1937 to reconcile the activities of the
American Birth Control League
The American Birth Control League (ABCL) was founded by Margaret Sanger in 1921 at the First American Birth Control Conference in New York City. The organization promoted the founding of birth control clinics and encouraged women to control their ...
(ABCL) and the
Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau (BCCRB). The goal was to reduce redundancy, improve cooperation, and discuss the future of the
birth control movement in the United States. The BCCA was created following the 1936 ''
United States v. One Package of Japanese Pessaries
''United States v. One Package of Japanese Pessaries'', 86 F.2d 737 ( 2d Cir. 1936) (often just ''U.S. v. One Package''), was an ''in rem'' United States Court of Appeals case in the Second Circuit involving birth control.
Background
In 1873 C ...
'' federal court case, effectively removing legal obstacles limiting the ability of doctors to import, disseminate and prescribe contraceptives.
Margaret Sanger
Margaret Higgins Sanger (born Margaret Louise Higgins; September 14, 1879September 6, 1966), also known as Margaret Sanger Slee, was an American birth control activist, sex educator, writer, and nurse. Sanger popularized the term "birth control ...
was the chairman of the BCCA, and under her leadership, it held several meetings in 1937. Topics addressed included clinic affiliation and the possible merger of the two birth control publications: The Birth Control Review and The Birth Control News. The members of the BCCA failed to reach agreement. In 1937, Sanger resigned her role as chairman due to the lack of progress and effectiveness. The BCCA was terminated in late 1937.
The Council
The Council consisted of nine members who met periodically in 1937:
"Birth Control Council of America"
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* Margaret Sanger - Chairman
* Henry Pratt Fairchild
Henry Pratt Fairchild (August 18, 1880 – October 2, 1956) was a distinguished American sociologist who was actively involved in many of the controversial issues of his time. He wrote about race relations, abortion and contraception, and immig ...
- Vice-Chairman
* Rabbi Sidney E. Goldstein
* Frederick C. Holden
* Eric M. Matsner
* Allison Pierce Moore
* Abraham Stone
* Hannah Mayer Stone
* Ira Solomon Wile
Notes
{{reflist
References
* "Birth Control Council of America", NYU Margaret Sanger Papers Project
"Birth Control Council of America"
*Engelman, Peter, ''History of the birth control movement in the United States'', p 171.
Birth control in the United States