Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, 1859-2002 (bulk 1916-1960)

In 1873 Congress passed the Comstock Act which declared contraceptives and any literature describing contraception as obscene. Six years later Massachusetts passed an even more restrictive "Crimes Against Chastity, Morality, Decency and Good Order" law which prohibited the selling, lending, giving away, or exhibiting of contraceptives. It was in the opposition to these restrictive laws that the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts had its roots.

In the summer of 1916 Van Kleek Allison, a Fabian socialist agitator, was arrested for distributing family planning pamphlets to workers at Boston's North End Candy factory. A group of citizens, known as the Allison Defense Committee, formed in his support (Allison was sentenced to two months in prison in 1917). By August 1916 the group was sufficiently organized to vote to change its name to the Birth Control League, although beginning with the October 30, 1916 minutes, the group referred to itself as the Birth Control League of Massachusetts (BCLM). Separate funds were raised, one for Allison's Defense and the other for the League. In autumn a constitution was drafted and adopted with Blanche Ames Ames as President.

Over the next few years organizers of the League developed ambitious and far-reaching plans designed to make birth control a public issue. They were active in educational work, meetings, and conferences, and membership slowly grew. In May 1919 under the leadership of Dr. Evangeline Young, the League reorganized as the Family Welfare Foundation.

The Foundation was unsuccessful in its goals and the group voted in 1920 to disband. In February 1928 one of the original members of the BCLM, Dr. Antoinette Konikow, printed a flyer inviting interested women to her house for a discussion and demonstration of contraceptives. She was arrested on the evening of the meeting and was charged with violating Massachusetts law against "advertising" or "exhibiting" contraceptives. (She was later acquitted.) Members of the old BCL formed the Emergency Defense Committee on her behalf. In May 1928 the Emergency Defense Committee returned to the old name of the Birth Control League of Massachusetts (BCLM) with Blanche Ames Ames once again as president. (She held the post until 1935 when she resigned along with Cornelia James Cannon because of a conflict over the wording of an advertisement that ran in Boston newspapers). During the next year the membership campaign continued and by May 1930 a paid field secretary, Caroline Carter, was engaged and an office rented in her home on Joy Street in Boston.

In 1931 the League went before the Joint Legislative Committee on Public Health for a hearing at which fourteen physicians testified to the medical need to give contraceptive advice to married women for medical reasons. A petition, "The Doctor's Bill to Clarify the Law," was signed by more than a thousand physicians and presented to the committee. It was unsuccessful. However, in 1932 Attorney Murray Hall advised the league that it would be acting within the law if it opened clinics, and funds were raised for the establishment of the Brookline Mother's Health Clinic. The following year a similar clinic opened in Springfield, followed by clinics in Worcester, Fitchburg, Salem, New Bedford, and in the South End of Boston. The League sponsored these clinics (Mother's Health Offices), placing them under the supervision of a Medical Advisory Committee. By 1936 the Mother's Health Offices or doctors in the outlying districts who worked in cooperation with the League to care for patients unable to pay the usual doctors' fees were serving five hundred people yearly.

Although the League was operating under the assumption that these clinics were legal, the Salem clinic was raided by police in 1937. The police took all the patient records and filed complaints against the doctor, nurse and social worker. The clinic was closed pending trial. Two more clinics, Brookline and Boston, were also raided and similar charges made, although no records were seized. The League then closed all the clinics. The clinics, which cared for 3000 low income married women, never reopened.

In 1939 the BCLM became the Massachusetts Mothers' Health Council (MMHC) and the members began working to change the anti-birth control laws through legislation. After three attempts (1940, 1947 and 1948) to put a referendum on the ballot and much soul searching, the Council decided to abandon further attempts to change the law and to work within it using education about family planning and modern methods of birth control. It channeled inquiries for advice on birth control to out-of-state clinics and established offshoot organizations including the Clergymen's Advisory Committee, the Physicians Committee for Planned Parenthood, and the Men's Committee for Medical Rights, to broaden the base of community support. These organizations conducted membership drives and solicited funds and support for legislative efforts especially the 1942 initiative and referendum campaign. In 1945, following the example of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America of which it was an affiliate, the Massachusetts Mothers' Health Council changed its name to PPLM and became a voluntary health education agency.

While attitudes and laws toward birth control changed around the country, Massachusetts and Connecticut remained the only states still operating under the Comstock laws of the 1870s. Although federally funded family planning programs were beginning to operate across the nation, Massachusetts law denied physicians the right to advise or prescribe birth control measures to women whose health would be endangered by becoming pregnant. In 1966 a group of Massachusetts physicians challenged the law through the courts. The passage of their bill, House Bill 2965, made it legal for married women to receive contraceptive advice through a physician and to obtain birth control devices through registered pharmacists.

Although PPLM decided not to open any clinics, it helped establish, fund, and support clinics within existing hospitals and health care agencies throughout the state believing that family planning should be an integral part of comprehensive health care services provided.

It was not until 1972 that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Eisenstadt v. Baird that Massachusetts laws restricting the availability of contraceptives to married women were unconstitutional on the grounds that they discriminated against unmarried women and, therefore, did not guarantee equal protection under the law. This victory for the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, along with the legalization of abortion in 1973 (Roe v. Wade), brought to a close the long effort by the PPLM to make contraceptives readily available.

Despite the legalization of abortion, in January 1976, a Massachusetts court convicted Dr. Kenneth Edelin, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Boston City Hospital, for performing an abortion on a woman in her twenty-fourth week of pregnancy. During the appeal that overturned the conviction, PPLM and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America joined forces to file an amicus brief in Dr. Edelin's defense.

In the 1980s Planned Parenthood began offering HIV testing and counseling. When it became clear that the need exceeded available services, PPLM again decided to open clinics which would provide a full range of reproductive health care services. In 1983 it opened a clinic in the Worcester area and in 1987 one in Greater Boston. The two clinics endured virulent protests, clinic blockades, and invasion. In 1993 PPLM's advocacy helped pass the Clinic Access Bill, the first pro-choice legislation ever passed in the state. On December 30, 1994, a gunman, entered PPLM's Brookline center and murdered a staff member, critically wounded three others and then attacked Preterm Health Services, killing another staff member and grievously injuring two more victims. As a result of this incident, Preterm Health Services merged with the Brookline center to become Planned Parenthood/Preterm Health Services of Greater Boston and moved into a PPLM-owned, state-of-the-art medical facility in Boston. In 1999 PPLM extended its medical services to the Western Massachusetts community, purchasing a practice in Springfield.

PPLM continued to solidify its role as a leader in reproductive health care while the national climate continued to become more hostile toward reproductive rights. In April 2004 PPLM sent thirty buses of students and supporters to the March for Women's Lives in Washington, D.C., the largest political demonstration in American history. PPLM achieved one of the organization's most significant legislative victories in 2005 with the passage of "An Act Providing Timely Access to Emergency Contraception." Thanks to strong bipartisan support, and a major statewide lobbying campaign by PPLM activists and allied organizations, the Massachusetts House and Senate overwhelmingly overrode Governor Mitt Romney's veto and enacted the legislation.

Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts celebrates its 80th Anniversary in 2008. It continues a commitment to preserve and expand reproductive rights and unrestricted access to health care.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The following abbreviations are used for the organizations in these records:

American Birth Control League: ABCL

Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau: BCCRB

Birth Control Federation of America: BCFA

Birth Control League of Massachusetts: BCLM

International Planned Parenthood Federation: IPPF

Massachusetts Mothers' Health Council : MMHC

National Committee on Federal Legislation for Birth Control: NCFLBC

Planned Parenthood Federation of America: PPFA

Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts : PPLM

The original members of the PPLM were primarily devoted to amending the Comstock laws of the 1870s which prohibited the giving of advice on birth control on the grounds that it was obscene and therefore illegal. The PPLM Records reflect the many ways the organization undertook to change Massachusetts law from its early origins in 1916 to the mid 1960s. Minutes of meetings of executive committees, boards of directors, and staff organizations from the first PPLM organization, serve as the best introduction to the activity of each organization.

After the police closed the Mother's Health Office clinics in 1937, PPLM (at that time the MMHC) directed its energies toward changing the Massachusetts law. The two initiative and referendum campaigns, launched by PPLM in 1942 and 1948, as well as subsequent test cases and legislative attempts are documented in the legislative files in SERIES VI. LEGISLATIVE FILES. This series contains legal briefs and hearings, correspondence with lawyers and supporters, voting records and background information for PPLM's own research. Much of the material in other series is the result of programs developed by PPLM in conjunction with these legal campaigns. Publicity in the form of publications, brochures, form letters, essay contests, the Speakers' Bureau (an extensive program that arranged to have prominent businessmen, lawyers, and doctors talks to various organizations and groups about the need to control births) evidence PPLM efforts to stimulate the public to concern themselves with birth control and family planning, and ultimately bring about a change in the law.

Offshoot organizations such as the Clergymen's Advisory Committee conducted publicity campaigns similar to those conducted by PPLM itself yet aimed at specific community members. These campaigns were well documented and are reflected in the records collected here. The Conference on Tomorrow's Children organized in the early forties by Eugene Belisle, then Executive director of the MMHC, and held during three consecutive summers at Harvard University, brought to the Boston area many of the leading population theorists. The conference series contains speeches presented at this conference and other related correspondence.

The PPLM Records provide a unique source for the study of the establishment and development of an organization largely run by women. SERIES III: CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE FILES and SERIES VI. LEGISLATIVE FILES provide the richest documentation in the collection. The former contains the central administrative files dating from the organizations inception in 1916 and the latter covers the Initiative and Referendum Campaigns of the 1940s. The material reveals PPLM's connections and conflicts with the Catholic Church and physicians' publicity campaigns. Correspondence with various groups and individuals illustrates their strong support of PPLM's cause.

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Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into ten series:

• SERIES I. CORRESPONDENCE (1918-69)
• SERIES II. STAFF (1930-72)
• SERIES III. CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE FILES (1916-2002)
• SERIES IV. RELATED ORGANIZATIONS (1918-68)
• SERIES V. CONFERENCE FILES (1934-67)
• SERIES VI. LEGISLATIVE FILES (1917-70)
• SERIES VII. RESOURCE FILES (1859-1971)
• SERIES VIII. CLIPPINGS AND ARTICLES (1916-70)
• SERIES IX. OVERSIZE MATERIALS (1859-1966)
• SERIES X. MICROFILM (1931-61)

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SERIES I. CORRESPONDENCE (1918-69) 9 linear ft.

This series is divided into three subseries: Staff, Miscellaneous individuals, and Subjects. It contains correspondence arranged alphabetically in accordance with the office filing system from the early years of PPLM. Letters to and from are interfiled. The correspondence spans the entire evolution of the PPLM from its early conception through name, policy, and personnel changes over the years. For information on specific issues and campaigns researchers are encouraged to check this correspondence by the relevant date.

The first subseries consists of correspondence of thirty-eight PPLM staff members. It is particularly interesting because it contains information about the ongoing internal issues of the organization throughout the years. Some of the more significant correspondence files are those of Blanche Ames Ames, founder and president; Eugene Belise, Executive Director; Lorraine Leeson Campbell, President; Cornelia James Cannon, President; Caroline Carter Davis, Executive Secretary, Field Secretary and Educational Secretary; Mary L. East, Executive Secretary,; Linda M. Hawkridge, President; Hazel Sagoff, Executive Director; and Mary M. White, Executive Secretary. Correspondence of Loraine Leeson Campbell is further divided by date and subject, the latter including letters about diaphragms and population issues. Throughout this series there are letters from Margaret Sanger, Mary Ware Dennett, and Louise Stevens Bryant. Additional correspondence to and from these staff members can be found throughout the records.

The second subseries contains correspondence of approximately 200 people. There are letters from Vera Brittain, Pearl Buck, Jessie Haver Butler, Mary S. Calderone, Robert Latou Dickinson, Clarence Gamble, Alan Guttmacher, Stella Hanau, Katharine Houghton Hepburn, Christian Herter, Norman Hines, Hubert Humphrey, Helen Keller, John F. Kennedy, Antoinette Konikow, Henry Cabot Lodge, Katharine Dexter McCormick, William Alan Neilson, Richard M. Nixon, Harriet Pilpel, Gregory Pincus, John Rock, Florence Rose, Margaret Sanger, Hannah and Abraham Stone, and Robert A. Taft. Correspondence from miscellaneous staff members such as committee chairs, is also located in this series.

The third subseries is arranged by subject, and includes letters against and for birth control and PPLM, letters of appreciation, requests for services and information, letters to the editor, correspondence with other birth control leagues, and letters about the U.S. Post Office and the mailing of contraceptives.

SERIES II. STAFF (1930-72) .5 linear ft.

This series contains biographical information (articles, clippings, and other printed material) about six PPLM staff members: Blanche Ames Ames, Loraine Leeson Campbell, Florence Clothier, Beth Everts, Stephen Plank, and Hazel Sagoff. It is arranged alphabetically. The bulk of the material relates to Lorraine Leeson Campbell and includes articles and clippings; a 1939 travel diary; interviews with Msg. Francis J. Lally and Msg. Thomas J. Riley; writings (notes, publications, speeches, talks, and statements); and an oral history of Campbell done by James Reed for the Schlesinger-Rockefeller Oral History Project (1973-74). Material on Hazel Sagoff includes articles, clippings, writings, material about her retirement in 1969, and her Radcliffe Institute applications. Material by and about these staff members can be found elsewhere in the records.

SERIES III. CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE FILES (1916-2002) 13 linear ft.

This series contains the administrative files of PPLM, beginning with its earliest antecedents and continuing through its various reorganizations and name changes. It includes the records of three offshoots committees which were formed to support the PPLM programs. The series contains seven subseries: Earliest birth control organizations, Birth Control League of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Mothers' Health Council, Clergymen's Advisory Committee, Men's Committee for Medical Rights, Physicians Committee for the Defense of Medical Rights, and Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. Much of this material overlaps.

The first subseries, Earliest birth control organizations, contains meeting minutes, correspondence, reports, and constitutions of the four groups that eventually became the Birth Control League of Massachusetts: Allison Birth Control Defense League, Birth Control League, Family Welfare Foundation, and the Emergency Defense Committee.

In 1928 the Emergency Defense Committee was renamed the Birth Control League of Massachusetts (BCLM). The second subseries, Birth Control League of Massachusetts contains information from its annual meetings and dinners including minutes (1930-39) and annual reports (1930-39), along with records of eleven of the BCLM's committees including the Executive Committee. The section on the Mother's Health Committee, created in 1932 to be responsible for the Mother's Health Office, consists of correspondence, meeting agendas and minutes, form letters, and publicity material concerning BCLM sponsored clinics and the 1942 referendum. Financial records of the League include information on financial campaigns, budgets and expenses, finances for the Defense Fund, treasurer's reports, and finance committee material. The Mother's Health Office (also called the Mother's Health Committee Office) was organized in 1931 to oversee the clinics. Of particular interest are materials related to administrative policy and planning; accounts and finances; annual, semiannual and monthly clinic reports; minutes of committee meetings; management policies; patient instructions and referrals; publicity releases; and speeches. There is also information related to the police raids that closed these clinics in 1937, the arrest of the staff, and the legal battle that followed. There is additional information on the clinic closings in SERIES XI. LEGISLATIVE FILES, SERIES VIII. CLIPPINGS AND ARTICLES, and SERIES X. MICROFILM. The personnel section contains reports of Mary White, education director (1930-41), and field director Doris Rutledge (1937-38). The plans and policy section contains information on the BCLM name change. In the publicity section there is information on the advertising dispute in 1935 between Blanche Ames Ames and Cornelia James Cannon (there is additional material about this in SERIES VIII. MICROFILM), financial issues, form letters, newspapers, press releases, printed material, and radio campaigns of the League. League research material on contraceptives is also included in this series.

The BCLM was renamed the Massachusetts Mothers' Health Council in 1939. The third subseries, Massachusetts Mothers' Health Council (MMHC), consists of annual meeting reports; minutes of committee and staff meetings; administrative records; reports of executive, field, and program directors; and publicity materials. Reports, brochures, press releases, and a copy of Margaret Sanger's speech in support of the Initiative Petition campaign document her 1940 tour of Massachusetts and the efforts to prevent her speaking. There are also files of mailings, reports, and copies of speeches about the referendum campaign; and a collection of printed materials and articles on birth control subjects.

The next three subseries contain the records of committees established to support MMHC and PPLM activities. The Clergymen's Advisory Committee subseries consists of documents relating to the referendum campaigns, correspondence and statements on birth control arranged by denomination, copies of sermons on birth control, newsletters, pamphlets, publicity materials, and reports of meetings with the PPLM Executive Committee. The Men's Committee for Medical Rights subseries contains correspondence, memoranda, and other papers relating mainly to its fundraising activities. The Physicians Committee for the Defense of Medical Rights subseries consists of correspondence, Executive Committee minutes and lists of members, lists of physicians, form letters, a questionnaire, press releases, and publications of the Committee.

The MMHC was renamed the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts in 1945. The seventh subseries, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM), consists of correspondence, minutes of annual meetings and Board of Directors' meetings, papers from other committees, programs, reports of the executive and state directors and the field representative, papers from the Speakers' Bureau, and copies of speeches. There are reports of the Benson and Benson Survey of 1940 and other public opinion polls and a questionnaire about a possible referendum in 1954. The few photographs of PPLM workers are included in this subseries in the publicity section.

SERIES IV. RELATED ORGANIZATIONS (1918-68) 6.25 linear ft

This series consist two subseries: Affiliated organizations and Miscellaneous organizations. The first contains material on four organizations with which the PPLM was affiliated beginning in 1928. There are four sections: American Birth Control League (ABCL), Birth Control League of America (later the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (BCFA/PPFA)), Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut, Planned Parenthood of Western Massachusetts, and Planned Parenthood - World Population (a merger in 1960 between PPFA and World Population Emergency Campaign). The ABCL section contains annual and Board of Directors meetings and minutes, by-laws, clinic standards, reports, printed material, conferences, and publicity. The largest section, BCFA/PPFA, consists of 5.5 linear ft. of records. There is a complete set of minutes of Board of Directors meetings as well as memoranda, reports, correspondence, and other materials about PPFA activities. Also of interest are exchanges of correspondence and information on working with African-Americans, financial procedures, and other organizational matters. Planned Parenthood of Connecticut contains correspondence with PPLM, meeting minutes and reports, and publicity and publications. Planned Parenthood of Western Massachusetts contains a small amount of miscellaneous material from the late 1960s. In 1961 the population crisis debate, along with funding shortages, convinced PPFA to merge with the World Population Emergency Campaign, a citizens' fund-raising organization, to become PPFA-World Population. This section contains information on family planning legislation, a National Conference on Family Planning (1966), and a regional workshop.

The second subseries, Miscellaneous organizations, contains small amounts of materials related to nine additional birth control organizations: Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau, Citizens Committee for Planned Parenthood, Human Betterment Association, International Planned Parenthood Federation, Margaret Sanger Research Bureau, Massachusetts Central Health Council, National Committee for Planned Parenthood, National Committee on Federal Legislation for Birth Control, and Voluntary Parenthood League. The Margaret Sanger Research Bureau material includes correspondence and notes of PPLM president Lorraine Campbell.

SERIES V. CONFERENCE FILES (1934-67) 3 linear ft.

This series is divided into two subseries: Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and Miscellaneous. The first subseries consists of material related to five conferences sponsored by BLM, MMHC, and PPLM. They are organized alphabetically by title. The bulk of this subseries is composed of the New England Conference on Tomorrow's Children which the PPLM sponsored for three subsequent summers between 1940 and 1942. These records include correspondence, conference papers, planning and arrangement materials, proceedings, programs, publicity, and documents related to speakers. In addition there is material on PPLM's Population Problems in a Free World (1946); two conferences sponsored by BCLM (Community Leaders Conference on Birth Control (1938) and New England Conference on Birth Control and the Community (1936)), and Two State Legislative Conference sponsored by MMHC. In the Miscellaneous subseries there is material on twelve additional birth control and population related conferences sponsored by various organizations including the Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau, U.S. government agencies, and the White House.

SERIES VI. LEGISLATIVE FILES (1917-70) 7 linear ft.

This series contains legal documents and other papers documenting PPLM'S (and its predecessor organizations) efforts to change the state laws on birth control. It is divided into five subseries: History and background materials, Initiative and Referendum Campaign, House and Senate Bills, Miscellaneous legislative efforts, and Connecticut legislative files.

The History and background material subseries contains material related to the history of birth control legislation in Massachusetts as well as background material related to the legislative efforts of the 1940s. It includes correspondence related to and drafts and final versions of "Birth Control and the Massachusetts Law" produced by PPLM in 1941 and revised in 1950. There is also as well as a history of attempts to change the Massachusetts law (1959); and articles, notes, and correspondence related to test case research. Of particular interest is case material related to the trials that resulted from the raids on the Brookline and Salem clinics, Lewis Corbett (a pharmacist arrested for selling birth control devices), Caroline Gardner vs. the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (the raid on the North Shore Mother's Health Office), Antoinette Konikow (1928), as well as miscellaneous legal opinions. In addition there is information on the dismissal of doctors from hospitals in Massachusetts and Connecticut and New York for espousing birth control. Of particular interest is a section on Legislation which includes Hearings on the Committee on Public Health and the Doctor's Bill; hearings statements and miscellaneous material on House Bill 2035 (Initiative Petition to allow physicians to provide medical contraceptive care to married persons for the protections of life or health); Cummins Vail Bill (the first legislative attempt to change the birth control laws), 1924; and the Sheppard Towner Act (The Promotion of the welfare and hygiene of maternity and infancy), 1928. There is also documentation of information on cases pertaining to birth control in other states and foreign countries including U.S. vs. One Package (importation of condoms), 1936.

The Initiative and referendum campaign subseries contains three sections: Field files; Initiative and Referendum Campaign, 1940-41; and Initiative and Referendum Campaign, 1947-48. The Field files consist of correspondence, notes, and data collected for the two Initiative and Referendum campaigns. It is arranged alphabetically by county. The two Initiative and Referendum Campaign sections contain program and policy reports, field reports, lists of workers and contributors, and contacts for the 1942 and 1948 campaigns. Also included are briefs, copies of cases and bills, and resource information and voting records by county for the 1947-48 campaign. Printed materials include form letters, press releases, copies of house bills, and publicity materials. The latter includes publicity materials of the opposition. There are also copies of the original signatures on the petitions used in these campaigns. There is more complete documentation of the Initiative and Referendum campaign in 1948 than for the earlier one.

The House and Senate Bills subseries contains memoranda, notes, statements, correspondence, financial records, bulletins and newsletters. It also includes drafts related to the Committee to Support House Bill #1401 (an act allowing the dissemination of birth control information by registered physicians and pharmacists), House Bills #418 (a bill to remove the word "married" from the birth control law), and House Bill #2965 (provides that only physicians can administer or prescribe contraception). Also included is material on the House Special Study Commission Report (1965), miscellaneous legal documents, lists and statements, and related notes by Loraine Leeson Campbell (1965-69).

The Miscellaneous legislative efforts subseries contains information on efforts following the Initiative and Referendum Campaigns of the 1940s. There are statements by religious leaders and physicians about birth control, hearings, reports, and correspondence about legislation with state senators. Research materials and correspondence relating to the consideration of whether to undertake a third initiative and petition campaign round out this subseries.

The Connecticut legislative files subseries contains information related to attempts to legalize birth control in Connecticut. It includes printed material, general statutes, histories, house bills, and hearings. Of particular interest are correspondence; briefs, motions and appeals related to specific cases, particularly Connecticut vs. Certain Contraceptive Materials (1940) ; Griswold, Buxton vs. Connecticut (1959-64); Nelson, Goodrich, McTernan vs. Connecticut (1940); and Tileston vs. Ullman (1942-43). A collaborative effort on possible test cases with Massachusetts is documented by correspondence, memoranda, and reports. Additional material can be found in SERIES IV. RELATED ORGANIZATIONS, SERIES VII. RESOURCE FILES, and SERIES VIII. CLIPPINGS AND ARTICLES.

SERIES VII. RESOURCE FILES (1859-1971) 6.75 linear ft.

This series is a subject file arranged alphabetically that includes journal articles, pamphlets, statements, newsletters, clippings, and some correspondence. It is the result of the BCLM's practice of collecting pertinent articles for research purposes and as a resource for their efforts to change Massachusetts legislation. It was further developed by staff members as PPLM extended its interest and outreach. The file provided material to distribute among staff members for elucidation of issues, for ideas for speeches, and to provide background material for publicity. Articles and pamphlets that could easily be found in the holdings of the Smith College Libraries or other local collections have been de-accessioned. The subjects are wide-ranging and include those related to housing, employment, public health, marriage, population issues, family planning, and religion (especially birth control and the Catholic Church). There is also a large file of material on organizations, countries, and states. A section on individuals, including Robert Latou Dickinson, John F. Kennedy, Gregory Pincus, John Rock, and Margaret Sanger, is also of interest

SERIES VIII. CLIPPINGS AND ARTICLES (1916-70) 3.25 linear ft.

This series consists of three subseries: Notebook of article digests, Subject files and Chronological files.

The first subseries consists of a notebook of digests of articles about birth control (1916-38) probably compiled by PPLM staff. The second consists of clippings arranged alphabetically by subject. Of particular interest are the files on abortion, Blacks and birth control, Catholic Church, clinic raids, Connecticut, contraception, population, and Margaret Sanger. Many of these subjects are related to each other and are also found elsewhere in the records and in the chronological files in the next subseries. The third subseries consist of a group of clippings arranged chronologically (1934-69).

SERIES IX. OVERSIZE MATERIALS (1859-1966) .75 linear ft.

This series consists of two subseries: Sound recordings and Miscellaneous oversize materials.

Sound recordings contains forty-two sound recordings (thirty-three 16" records and nine 12" records) of broadcasts aired by the Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau and the PPLM between 1938 and 1951. The PPLM broadcasts primarily relate to the referendum campaign. Because these recordings cannot be transferred to a usable format at this time, they are closed to research.

The second subseries, Miscellaneous oversize materials consists of one box of items removed from the main body of the records and several items located in the flat files. Of particular interest in Box 22 is an 1859 issue of the newspaper The Clipper that includes advertisements for condoms. Separation sheets show the original locations of these oversize items.

SERIES X. MICROFILM (1931-61) 7 reels .5 linear ft.

This series consists of forty-five scrapbooks that were microfilmed for preservation purposes. Lorraine Leeson Campbell donated scrapbooks number 1-29 and 31-39, and numbers 30, 40-45 were donated to PPLM by Margaret Sanger. Topics of interest in these scrapbooks include the Doctor's Bill; the Blanche Ames Ames/Cornelia James Cannon controversy; Blanche Ames Ames and the Roman Catholic Church; Margaret Sanger's speeches (including the Holyoke Affair), trips abroad, arrest and trials; the MMHC, ABCL, BCCRB, BCFA, and PPFA.

SERIES I. CORRESPONDENCE

SERIES II. STAFF

SERIES III. CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE FILES