''Birth Control Review'' was a lay

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

established and edited by

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 contro ...

in 1917, three years after her friend, Otto Bobsein, coined the term "

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

" to describe voluntary motherhood or the ability of a woman to space children "in keeping with a family's financial and health resources.". Sanger published the first issue while imprisoned with Ethel Byrne, her sister, and Fannie Mindell for giving

contraceptives Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth cont ...

and instruction to poor women at the Brownsville Clinic in New York. Sanger remained

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

until 1928, when she turned it over to 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 thei ...

. The last issue was published in January 1940.

History

In October 1916 Sanger opened a family planning and birth control clinic in Brownsville, New York. Sanger was arrested twice while in operation for the illegal distribution of contraceptives and for being a public nuisance. Sanger was charged with 30 days in jail where she began publishing the Birth Control Review (1917). The predecessor to the Birth Control Review was Sanger’s previous publication titled “Woman Rebel,” a seven issue periodical running March- October 1914. This journal was the first to publish the term “birth control” in print (coined by Otto Bobsien). This would subsequently lead to the Sanger use of the term to mobilize the Birth Control movement of the 20th century. Sanger’s brief stay in prison and its surrounding publicity launched her into martyrdom and sparked a revitalized interest in the birth control moment earning her numerous donors to support her periodical. Sanger remained editor-in-chief until 1928 when she stepped down and the American Birth Control League took over.

Content

The main goal of the Review was to increase public support for birth control by attracting the support of doctors, legislators, academics, and the middle class and wealthy society women. The BCR urged its readers join groups such as American Birth Control League (which spanned 10 different branches and later became Planned Parenthood). Content included news of birth control activities, articles by scholars, activists, and writers on birth control, and reviews of books and other publications. The Review also included art and fiction in the form of cartoons, poetry and short stories as well as, case studies and first hand account/testimonies from women, often lower class persons of color.

Circulation

The Comstock Act of 1873 made mailing information about birth control and contraceptives illegal. Fourteen states prohibited the verbal transmission of information about contraception or abortion, while eleven others made possession of instructions for the prevention of pregnancy a criminal offense.

References

External links

* * {{cite journal , title=Birth Control Review Digital Archives , journal=Birth Control Review , url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000675880

History

Content

Circulation

References

External links

Further reading