Planned Parenthood Federation of America Records, 1928-2009 (PPFA II)
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Sophia Smith Collection Smith CollegeNorthampton, MA
Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Eric Cartier. 2003-07-02
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Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Planned Parenthood Federation of America Records
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Biographical History for: Planned Parenthood Federation of America Records
Historical Note In 1921 Margaret Sanger founded the national lobbying organization, American Birth Control League (ABCL) which in 1942 became Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). Between 1921 and 1942 the organization underwent two transformations. In 1923 Sanger opened the Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau (BCCRB) for the purposes of dispensing contraceptives under the supervision of licensed physicians and studying their effectiveness. The ABCL provided institutional backing for clinics. The BCCRB merged with the ABCL in 1939 to form the Birth Control Federation of American (BCFA). In 1942 the name of the BCFA was changed to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The name change reflected a redefinition of the organization's goals from family limitation to family planning. While PPFA continued to function as the largest birth control organization in the country, it sought to position itself as a more mainstream and moderate organization committed to a broad range of programs related to reproductive health. Under the leadership of National Director D. Kenneth Rose, the PPFA expanded its programs and services through the 1940s, adding affiliate organizations throughout the country. By the end of World War II, the Federation was no longer solely a center for birth control services or a clearing house for contraceptive information but had emerged as a major national health organization. PPFA's programs included a full range of family planning services, including marriage education and counseling, and infertility services. The leadership of the PPFA, largely consisting of businessmen and male physicians, endeavored to incorporate its contraceptive services unofficially into regional and national public health programs by emphasizing less politicized aspects such as child-spacing. During the 1950s, the Federation further adjusted its programs and message to appeal to a family-centered, more conservative post-war populace, while continuing to function, through its affiliated clinics, as the most reliable source of contraceptives in the country. From 1942 to 1962, PPFA concentrated its efforts on strengthening its ties to affiliates, expanding public education programs, and improving its medical and research work. By 1960, visitors to PPFA centers across the nation numbered over 3,000,000 per year. In the 1950s PPFA began focusing greater attention on global population issues as new concerns arose over the political, social, and cultural implications of overpopulation in Asia and around the world. The organization became active in international birth control work through its membership in the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), which Margaret Sanger helped found in 1952. 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. Later in the 1960s, after several decades of emphasizing a family-centered, more conservative program for public health, PPFA reasserted its primary commitment to championing women's reproductive rights. It was also in the 1960s that family planning began to win the support of the federal government. Alan Guttmacher, M.D., who served as president of PPFA from 1962 until his death in 1974, was an effective advocate for the idea of a woman's right to safe and effective birth control. He successfully fought for the development of federally funded domestic and international family planning programs. Guttmacher also played an important role in the development of the birth control Pill and IUD. The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) was named in his honor. AGI is an independent corporation for research, policy analysis, and public education on reproductive health issues and is a special affiliate of PPFA. In 1970, Congress enacted Title X of the Public Health Services Act, providing support and funding for family planning services and educational programs and for biomedical and behavioral research in reproduction and contraceptive development. The Family Planning International Assistance division was established in 1972 by PPFA, becoming the largest U.S. nongovernmental provider of family planning services to developing countries. In 1978, Faye Wattleton was appointed the first woman president of PPFA since Margaret Sanger. She led PPFA in its ongoing battle to preserve access to safe and legal abortion, to protect client confidentiality, especially for minors, against encroachments by the state, and to preserve federal funding for domestic and international family planning programs. By the time she retired from PPFA in 1992, Wattleton had greatly expanded its program of advocacy around the idea that sexual and reproductive liberation is central to women's equality. In the 1980s and 90s, PPFA faced an onslaught of opposition to family planning and birth control. The organization challenged regulations passed under the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush that placed restrictions on U.S. funding of family planning services overseas and domestically. Organized right-wing opposition and violence against birth control and abortion providers also became a serious concern. PPFA continues to confront this opposition while it also addresses the public health issues surrounding sexuality and reproduction, such as the AIDS epidemic and the effect of poverty on families and children. Gloria Feldt currently serves as president of Planned Parenthood. References: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/ABOUT/NARRHISTORY The Margaret Sanger Papers Microfilm Edition: Smith College Collection Series, edited by Esther Katz, et al., University Publications of America, 1995
Scope and Contents of the Collection The records of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America are divided into two sections, PPFA I and PPFA II, this being section II. PPFA I consists of the earlier records of the Federation (1918-74) and is completely organized and open to research. PPFA II consists of the central files of PPFA from the 1950s through 1981, with scattered earlier items dated as early as 1921, so there is some overlap in the dates. Miscellaneous accessions received from miscellaneous departments from 1988 through the 1990s are also included in a separate list following the central files. PPFA II records are unprocessed; the original order established by PPFA has been retained. For ease of access, restricted materials (1975 to the present and selected earlier records) have been segregated from those that are open to research (see Information on Use). The inventory lists both open and closed materials. The bulk of post-1974 publications are open. Researchers may have access to closed records only if they obtain PPFA's permission. The records, in categories established by the central offices, are organized into ten series, including Chronological files, Classified files, Publications, Subject files, Affiliates, Regions, Minutes, Foreign, Guttmacher, and Restricted. These records document the work of PPFA nationally and internationally in the areas of advocacy; medical services and research; legislation; public relations; and the specific work of affiliates, departments, and committees. Types of materials include correspondence, reports, minutes, memos, publicity, publications and other printed material, audiotapes, reference files, and financial and legal material. The PPFA filing system was designed to suit the organization's internal operations and presents complications for the researcher. The classification system used by PPFA is sometimes not very descriptive and obscures the nature of the material. Related material may be located in several places. Divider headings, listed in bold caps, have been retained in the box list, but their relationship to nearby material is inconsistent and not always clear. NOTE: To view the series descriptions and contents lists, click on the series links below. Some files are quite large and may take several minutes to load, depending on your internet connection.
Abortion--Law and legislation-United States--History--Sources
lcsh
Abortion services--History--Sources
Birth control clinics--United States--History--Sources
Birth control--History--20th century--Sources
Birth control--Developing countries--History--20th century--Sources
Contraceptives--Research--History
Hygiene, Sexual--History--20th century
Human reproduction--Political aspects
Population policy--History--20th century
Reproductive health--Statistics
Sex instruction--History
Women--Health and hygiene--United States--20th century
Women's health services--United States--20th century
Best, Winfield
lcnaf
Guttmacher, Alan Frank, 1898-
McCormick, Katherine Dexter, 1876-1967
Rose, D. Kenneth
Sanger, Margaret, 1879-1966
Wattleton, Faye
Alan Guttmacher Institute--History
American Birth Control League--History
Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau (New York, N.Y.)--History
Birth Control Federation of America--History
International Planned Parenthood Federation--History
Planned Parenthood Federation of America--History
Planned Parenthood-World Population (U.S.)--History
series
SERIES I. CHRONOLOGICAL FILES (1964-80)
This series consists primarily of carbon copies of outgoing correspondence, the bulk of which is from the national office, 1960s-70s. It is arranged alphabetically by the last name of the author of the letter. Each individual's correspondence is arranged in reverse chronological order. The authors of this correspondence include many significant PPFA staffers, including Alan Bloebaum, Hans Blaise, Eve Paul, Alan Guttmacher, John C. Robbins, Fred Jaffe, and Jerim Klapper. Researchers may find it useful to consult administrative files first (SERIES II. CLASSIFIED), determine pertinent departments and staffers, and then consult the Chronological Files. See appendix for list of selected PPFA staff and their positions.
SERIES II. CLASSIFIED FILES (Part 1 and Part 2) (1921-80)
Materials in this series relate to the administration of PPFA. It consists of records of the board of directors, executive committee, standing and special committees, and the various divisions and departments of the Federation. The records include correspondence, memos, by-laws, procedures, standards, press releases, reports, statistics, reference materials, and minutes. This series is the core record of Federation activities and policy development. The series is roughly arranged as follows: general policies and histories; committees, bylaws, and handbooks; annual meetings; administrative staff; and then departments and related organizations. Major departments and organizations are as follows: Center for Family Planning Program Development (which was called the Alan Guttmacher Institute beginning in 1975); Community Affairs (later known as Youth and Student Affairs); Field Department, which includes material on abortion; Financial Management; Communications (at times known as Education, Information and Education, or Public Affairs Department); Fund Raising/Resources; Medical (includes material on abortion and contraception); Research (includes clinic statistics); Family Planning International Assistance (includes reports on international family planning projects); and International Planned Parenthood Federation.
SERIES III. PUBLICATIONS (1930-80)
The bulk of this series is arranged alphabetically by title. Much of this material is published by PPFA and written by its staff. Many items are reprints from a variety of journals and newspapers. Some are miscellaneous reprints or are written by outside organizations and authors. The publications cover a variety of topics of interest to PPFA, such as abortion, population, contraceptives, marriage counseling, and poverty as it relates to population. There are legal briefs, bibliographies, and catalogs as well as articles, pamphlets, and books. Two boxes at the end are arranged alphabetically by author, and one box has no discernible order.
SERIES IV. SUBJECT FILES (1925-80)
The files in this series relate to organizations, individuals, conferences, grants, and a variety of topics of interest to PPFA, such as contraceptives. The materials, which include correspondence and printed material, are arranged in one alphabetical sequence. Note that there are inconsistencies in the filing system; for example conference files appear under "C," but files related to the National Conference on Social Welfare are under "N". The Abortion subject files are located in Accession 01S-42. Major subject categories include Associations and agencies (outside organizations), Conferences, Contraceptives, Foundations and Funds, Grant applications and proposals, Alan Guttmacher, and U.S. Government. Researchers are encouraged to check their topics alphabetically and to check under all pertinent headings. A box of material pertaining to Margaret Sanger follows the alphabetical files. It contains miscellaneous biographical material, publications, and correspondence.
SERIES V. AFFILIATES (Part 1 and Part 2) (1921, 1939-1981)
This series contains the national office's records on affiliate activities and includes minutes, affiliation materials, copies of correspondence, clippings, publicity, reports, and financial material. The bulk of the material is arranged alphabetically by state. The first set of state material is local affiliates' minutes. This is followed by minutes and meeting material from regional offices; it is unclear whether this duplicates material contained in SERIES VI. REGIONS. Next comes general administrative material, which includes files on services offered by affiliates, including birth control methods and sexually transmitted disease education. The remainder of material, the bulk of this series, is from affiliate offices and filed by state. General state programs such as anti-poverty and migrant worker programs are filed first within a state, and then local and metropolitan affiliates are listed. Files include affiliate reports, statistics, publicity, and correspondence. There are some inconsistencies: New York City comes before New York State, but there is also New York City material within New York State and some at the end of the series. The state of Connecticut is filed last. It contains a significant amount of information regarding Griswold vs. Connecticut and the fight to disseminate birth control and contraceptive information. The New York State files contain some material pertaining to the relaxation of abortion laws in the early 1970s. The end of the series includes miscellany and histories of the regions.
SERIES VI. Regions (1964-80)
This series consists of the national office's records on the various regional offices of PPFA and includes the following types of materials: minutes, affiliation materials, correspondence, memos, reports, publicity, committee files, workshop files, project files, financial materials, and subject files. Regional offices oversee affiliate activities and report to the national office. The regions are as follows: Mid-Atlantic; Great Lakes; Midwest; Southwest/ South-Central; Western; Southeast; and North Atlantic/Northeast.
SERIES VII. Minutes (1935-39, 1957-81)
This series consists of minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Association of Planned Parenthood Physicians, National Medical Committee, International Planned Parenthood Federation, and annual membership. It also includes annual reports. The series includes microfilm, audiotape, and typed transcripts.
SERIES VIII. Foreign (1952-79)
Correspondence; and conference, reference, and subject files related to international planned parenthood issues make up this series. An IPPF conference is included as well as alphabetical subject files (including abortion). International family planning projects, most administered by Family Planning International Assistance (a PPFA sub-organization with an international focus), are filed alphabetically by country.
SERIES IX. Guttmacher (1947-70)
This series contains reprints of publications, most of which were authored or co-authored by Alan Guttmacher. They are arranged alphabetically by title.
SERIES X. RESTRICTED (1953-74)