Birth Control Movement

“Prejudices about black women’s lack of intelligence frequently reinforced health officials’ belief that funding birth control programs in black communities was a waste of money altogether. Many philanthropists and health professionals believed that African Americans lack the intellectual capacity to use any form of birth control. . . . Clarence Gamble, Frances Pratt, and many public health officials assumed that black women lacked the intelligence to use anything but the simplest contraceptives. Even sympatric professionals regularly assumed that African Americans were not interested in birth control and would not avail themselves of the methods because they were too complicated, or that patients would not accept or carry out recommendations. Frequently, such attitudes provided an excuse for the absence of programs for African Americans” (Schoen, ch 1).