FACTS
Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY) has announced that they will remove the name of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger from their building due to her racist views and eugenics ties. They also are calling on the city to rename “Margaret Sanger Square” where the center is located. The organization has previously denounced Sanger’s stance on eugenics while defending her as a whole, but many have called for greater measures to be taken as the nation grapples with racism. A recent letter to the organization, with signatures from 350 employees and donors, read, “Planned Parenthood was founded by a racist, white woman.” By many, she has been viewed as a “feminist icon and reproductive-rights pioneer.”
RIGHT
The Right supports the move, but believes that removing Sanger’s name while continuing her practices is hypocritical and illogical. It is argued that the abortion industry targets minority communities disproportionately and is itself a racist institution. Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser has called on Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton to denounce their Planned Parenthood Margaret Sanger awards.
“Margaret Sanger’s intense campaign to push contraception and the abortion mentality on minority communities to ensure that fewer black babies would be born deserves our condemnation and demands that she be removed from places of honor.”
Kristan Hawkins, President of Students for Life of America
The evil that Margaret Sanger started when she founded Planned Parenthood 100 years ago pales in comparison to the atrocities the corporation does today.
— Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) July 21, 2020
Every day, Planned Parenthood kills 900 babies.
900 irreplaceable, precious human lives destroyed.https://t.co/7k3HEOiByP
LEFT
The Left is split in its support. Many believe that it is a “necessary and overdue” action as the nation reassesses the complexity of many historical figures. PPGNY Board Chair Karen Seltzer said it is a “step toward representing who we are as an organization.”
“Planned Parenthood, like many other organizations that have existed for a century or more, is reckoning with our history and working to address historical inequities to better serve patients and our mission.”
Melanie Roussell Newman, Planned Parenthood Federation of America spokesperson
Others say that Sanger has been misunderstood and argue that eugenics was widely supported by both conservatives and liberals at the time. “Her motives were the opposite of racism,” said Ellen Chesler, a Roosevelt Institute senior fellow and author of a Sanger biography, noting that Sanger’s belief was that children and families would benefit from parents having fewer children.
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