The Children's Era Theme of Women and Femininity

This theme is kind of unavoidable when you're talking about childbearing, right?

The element of womanhood at issue in "The Children's Era" is motherhood. Over and over, Sanger emphasizes that there's no hope for the future of children, the family, or civilization itself unless women can decide for themselves whether and when they become mothers.

Remember that old saying, "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"? Sanger would wear that on a t-shirt.

1. What do you think of Sanger's characterization of "enforced […] maternity" (51) as slavery?
2. What are the consequences of Sanger's discussion of how the wellbeing of the mother and child are connected for today's pro-life and pro-choice movements?
3. Sanger says "the future of civilization" (52) literally depends upon birth control? What are some concrete ways that might be true or false?

Sanger uses the language of slavery and emancipation to give weight to her arguments.

Sanger's insistence that only a healthy and willing mother can produce healthy children is her primary appeal to those concerned with the future of the nation-state.