Margaret Sanger: an autobiography.Sanger, Margaret
History
Margaret Sanger: an autobiography.
Sanger, Margaret
Birth control -- United States -- Biography; Sanger, Margaret, 1879-1966
To come before you implies conviction.
Judge McInerney “made application to the District Attorney to be taken
off this case.”
Trial was marked for January 4, 1917, but the first case, that of Ethel,
was reached so late in the afternoon it had to be postponed. Four days
afterwards, in spite of our attempts to be tried together, she appeared
alone. She freely admitted she had described birth control methods but
denied the District Attorney’s accusation that our ten-cent registration
fee made it a “money making” affair. This and other sensational charges,
such as “the clinic was intended to do away with the Jews” were often
inserted in the records for reporters to pick up, make good stories of
them, and in consequence influence newspaper readers against us. They
were great stumbling blocks.
Our most important witness, Dr. Morris H. Kahn, physician in
Bloomingdale’s Department Store who also maintained a private clinic
where he gave out birth control information, was ready to testify, but
his evidence was ruled out as “irrelevant, incompetent, and immaterial.”
To be sure the charge against Ethel was as a lay person; nevertheless,
it was extraordinary that we could get no hearing for a doctor. J.J. was
allowed only fifteen minutes to present his argument on the
unconstitutionality of Section 1142, and the presiding Judge decided
that the court was bound to hold it constitutional on precedent,
regardless of argument.
Ethel was found guilty.
In the two weeks before sentence was to be pronounced we debated what
she and I should do. Perhaps it could be stayed, which would settle
everything, but we each had to be prepared for either a short term of
imprisonment or a long one. In case of the former, submission was the
wiser course, because the public would not consider it of sufficient
moment to bestir itself; in the latter event, a hunger strike seemed
indicated, but, again, only if sufficient attention could be called to
it.
The New York _World_ had the most liberal policy of all the leading
morning dailies, and therefore appeared to offer the best likelihood of
being favorably disposed. I approached one of its editors and asked
whether he would print our entire story if I were to give him a scoop
and guarantee accuracy. He agreed, and assigned us a special reporter.
Ethel was sentenced January 22nd to thirty days in the Workhouse on
Blackwell’s Island in the East River. In spite of our discussion over
this possibility, she was utterly shocked, and exclaimed, “I’m going to
go on that hunger strike.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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