Amusing Twitter Debate With Anti-Choice Partisans

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Abortion, factchecking, margaret sanger, myths, Planned Parenthood Federation of America

You know, we are a pretty laid back group here at the Sanger Papers. Its unusual for vicious debates to break out, but that was before we launched the @SangerPapers Twitter account a few months ago. The Twitter sphere is full of people who are rabidly opposed to Planned Parenthood, and in order to attack the organization, they tend to latch onto historic myths and misrepresentations of its founder, Margaret Sanger. Naturally, in the name of historical accuracy (and feminism), we venture from time to time out into the battlefield of representation, and encounter people who seem profoundly unattached to anything like truth or reason. Sanger undoubtedly did and said enough questionable things in her lifetime, what is the point of making stuff up? Here are some particularly juicy highlights from yesterday’s Twitter debates about Sanger with a right-wing ideologues.

@jamespeabo @OBAMA_CZAR Actually the Nazis hated Sanger, had her books burned. sangerpapers.wordpress.com/2010/11/10/set… Do you have any sources for your claim?
 
— Sanger Papers (@SangerPapers) June 6, 2012

  No one managed to get back to me about evidence. Because there is none. But that doesn’t seem too important to this kind of debate. 

@OBAMA_CZAR @SangerPapers @jamespeabo this is a hallmark of leftist thought,stems from collective ownership of everything & every one — ted schuler (@wolframrose) June 6, 2012

@OBAMA_CZAR Respectfully disagree. If you would like a historical take on Sanger and the Negro Project, read: sangerpapers.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/ano…
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— Sanger Papers (@SangerPapers) June 6, 2012

 And then, the clue that you aren’t talking about Sanger at all, Sanger is just a stand-in for a much more difficult issue with a quickly moving target: 

@OBAMA_CZAR I think women who have had abortions should be considered authorities of their own choices. Ask them if they feel targeted. — Sanger Papers (@SangerPapers) June 6, 2012

  And my personal favorite: you are a liar and accuracy means nothing. 

@OBAMA_CZAR Actually our blog is based on the archival collection of Margaret Sanger Papers. That’s what good scholarship is made of.

— Sanger Papers (@SangerPapers) June 6, 2012

Is meaningful (Twitter) debate possible? Or is it just a forum for two opposed sides to shout about their beliefs? It was clear by the end that Ms. ObamaCzar was not talking about Margaret Sanger at all, but about abortion politics. It’s slightly ironic that Sanger didn’t condone abortion and it wasn’t practiced at Planned Parenthood until after Roe v Wade made it legal in 1973, seven years after her death.

The Tentacles of Planned Parenthood

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Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Sometimes a line from a poorly researched, blatantly anti-Margaret Sanger article just strikes me as so funny I have to illustrate it. This is what prompted the creation of Sanger and Voldemort hanging out in a car. Installment two was inspired by a line from this ill-informed piece on Population Control.

– Jill Grimaldi, Web Outreach Intern

Margaret Sanger Award 1966

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margaret sanger, martin luther king jr., Planned Parenthood Federation of America, reproductive rights, sanger award, Sanger Project

The Margaret Sanger Award is Planned Parenthood’s highest honor. It is presented annually to someone who demonstrates, “leadership, excellence, and outstanding contributions to the reproductive health and rights movement.”

The award was established 44 years ago in 1966 and was awarded to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  in that year.  Dr. Carl G. Hartman,  General William H. Draper Jr.,  and President Lyndon B. Johnson were also honored in the award’s first year.

Coretta Scott King delivered her husband’s acceptance speech on May 10th 1966 because he could not attend the ceremony.

“There is no human circumstance more tragic than the persisting existence of a harmful condition for which a remedy is readily available. Family planning, to relate population to world resources, is possible, practical and necessary. Unlike plagues of the dark ages or contemporary diseases we do not yet understand, the modern plague of overpopulation is soluble by means we have discovered and with resources we possess.”

“There is a striking kinship between our movement and Margaret Sanger’s early efforts. She, like we, saw the horrifying conditions of ghetto life. Like we, she knew that all of society is poisoned by cancerous slums. Like we, she was a direct actionist — a nonviolent resister. She was willing to accept scorn and abuse until the truth she saw was revealed to the millions. At the turn of the century she went into the slums and set up a birth control clinic, and for this deed she went to jail because she was violating an unjust law. Yet the years have justified her actions. She launched a movement which is obeying a higher law to preserve human life under humane conditions. Margaret Sanger had to commit what was then called a crime in order to enrich humanity, and today we honor her courage and vision; for without them there would have been no beginning. Our sure beginning in the struggle for equality by nonviolent direct action may not have been so resolute without the tradition established by Margaret Sanger and people like her. “

Read the full speech here!

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. received his award for, “his courageous resistance to bigotry and his lifelong dedication to the advancement of social justice and human dignity.”

Check out the Planned Parenthood website for more information about other past recipients of the award.