Social Movements

In 1916, the original Planned Parenthood began as a way to distribute information about and provide birth control in a time in which that was illegal. Founder Margaret Sanger also worked to research new birth control methods. In 1936, a court ruled “that birth control devices and information would no longer be classified as obscene, and could be legally distributed in New York, Connecticut, and Vermont.” Thirty years later, married couples (only married couples) across the United States were also granted these rights. “In 1956, the first large-scale human trial of the birth control pill was carried out in Puerto Rico.” Fours year later, on May 9, 1960, the FDA approved the sale of the birth control pill. “Within 5 years, 1 out of every 4 married women in the U.S. under the age of 45 had used the pill.” This was a historic step for contraceptive usage, Planned Parenthood, and women and families.

Supreme Court cases throughout the 1960s and 1970s made it so that doctors could give birth control to anyone, regardless of the patient’s marital status. Title X of the Public Health Services Act passed in 1970 and “established public funding for family planning and sex education programs in the U.S. That meant Planned Parenthood and other reproductive health organizations were able to provide birth control and sex education services for more people, especially in low-income communities. To this day, Title X funding is critical to accessing  sexual and reproductive health care.” In 1973, the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade affirmed the right to abortion because of one’s right to privacy. During the 1970s, many laws restricting abortion access were ruled against in the courts. However, in 1976, the Hyde Amendment banned the use of federal funding to pay for abortions, except in cases of incest, rape, or if necessary to protect the life of the mother.

Due to the many wins by abortion rights activists in the 1970s, there was strong pushback from anti-abortion rights activists in the 1980s and 1990s. This is the time that the opposition became violent, threatening those involved in providing abortions and following through on those threats of murder, bombings, and arson. Ronald Reagan’s and George H.W. Bush’s administrations were accompanied by a wave of abortion restrictions. “But throughout these difficult times, Planned Parenthood remained steadfast in its commitment to patients and its vision of a world without barriers to sexual and reproductive health care.”

In 1989, “Planned Parenthood Federation of America president Faye Wattleton founded the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, a 501c4 organization, to engage in public education campaigns, grassroots organizing, and legislative and electoral activity.” Planned Parenthood Action Fund was started as a way to focus on politics affecting reproductive health and rights so that Planned Parenthood could continue to operate. Gloria Feldt, the former PPFA president, describes the necessity for PPAF in saying “Our political work is our survival.” Without PPAF, Planned Parenthood could not do the work that it does.

The 1990s brought with them many new types of contraceptives, expanding the options for those seeking birth control. Mifepristone, the “abortion pill,” was approved by the FDA in 2000, providing women more options with regards to abortion methods. The Supreme Court ruling in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt in 2016 declared “that states could not create rules that placed an ‘undue burden’ on people seeking abortion,” which was a big win for women and healthcare.

Currently, Planned Parenthood Action Fund spends a great deal of time fighting the Trump administration’s attempts to defund Planned Parenthood and their Title X funding. Lindsay Robinson, the NC Director of Public Affairs for the Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic (a regional affiliate) describes the difficulty and necessity of their work: “We know funding could be taken away any minute so we have to continually be prepared. I think one of the pros and cons about this job is that you have to constantly be reactive.”

For a more detailed description of the context in which Planned Parenthood has grown, visit: www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are/our-history.

For more information about the founding of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, visit: 100years.plannedparenthood.org/#e1976-1996/5.