Alexander C. Sanger

Alexander C. Sanger is an American reproductive rights activist and the current Chair of the International Planned Parenthood Council. He is the grandson of Margaret Sanger,[1] the founder of Planned Parenthood who opened America's first birth control clinic in Brownsville, Brooklyn, in 1916.[2][3][4] Sanger previously served as a United Nations Population Fund Goodwill Ambassador, as the President of Planned Parenthood of New York City (PPNYC) and President of its international arm, The Margaret Sanger Center International (MSCI) from 1991–2000.[5]

Alexander C. Sanger
Born (1947-11-25) November 25, 1947
New York City, New York
RelativesGrandson of Margaret Sanger

Early life

Alexander Campbell Sanger was born November 25, 1947 in New York City and grew up in Mount Kisco, New York. His father, Grant Sanger, a surgeon, was the second child of Margaret Sanger. His mother, Edwina Campbell, was a physician and was the grand-daughter of William C. Durant, founder of General Motors.[6]

Sanger attended the Bedford Rippowam School, Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts and Princeton University. At Princeton, he wrote his senior history thesis on his grandmother, Margaret Sanger. After service in the U.S. Air National Guard, Sanger attended Columbia Law and Business schools, earning both an MBA and a JD, and then became an associate and then partner of the New York law firm of White & Case. During this time, he earned a LLM degree in Taxation from New York University Law School.

He joined the board of Planned Parenthood of New York City in 1984 and was elected President and CEO in 1990.[7]

Career

During Sanger's tenure as president of PPNYC during the 1990s, the organization rejected funds tied to the domestic gag rule, Title X, after the case Rust v. Sullivan lost in the U.S. Supreme Court in 1991. Such funds would have blocked PPNYC's medical providers from discussing abortion services.[8] Under Sanger's direction, in 1993 PPNYC began the Clinician Training Initiative to address the decrease in doctors trained to perform abortions.[9][10] More than 100 Ob-Gyn residents have since been trained through the program,[11] and the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education now requires all Ob-Gyn residents to be prepared to perform abortions.[12]

Under Sanger's leadership, new penalties were imposed for attacks on abortion and family planning clinics in New York.[13] In conjunction with the New York Civil Liberties Union and other allies, PPNYC worked to permit physician assistants to perform abortions across New York State.[14][15] PPNYC also expanded access to contraception, including emergency contraception,[16] methotrexate,[17] and RU-486.[18] In 1997 the Food and Drug Administration announced that six brands of birth control pills could be safely used as emergency contraceptive, after PPNYC filed a petition advocating for this outcome.[19] When federal restrictions prohibited the spread of abortion-related information on the Internet, Sanger brought suit against Attorney General Janet Reno (Sanger v. Reno).[20]

Writing

Sanger publishes frequently on topics related to reproductive rights and justice. He has published numerous op-eds,[21][22][23] journal articles,[24] and letters to the editor.[25][26] His book Beyond Choice: Reproductive Freedom in the 21st Century, was published in January 2004 by PublicAffairs.[27][28] He also operates a website and blog at AlexanderSanger.com.

Involvement in the Arts

After his retirement as president and chief executive of New York City's Planned Parenthood in 2000, Sanger took up drawing and watercolors. His work was exhibited at Planned Parenthood of Northern New England's gallery in Portland, Me and the North Haven Gallery,[29] and at the Cunneen-Hackett Art Center in Poughkeepsie, NY.[30] Sanger's photography has been featured in Maine Boats.[31]

Sanger is trustee of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, which funds programs for disadvantaged children, in women's health and for the commissioning of new works by women in the performing arts, particularly composers, playwrights[32][33] and choreographers.[34] It originated the Opera America Discovery and Commissioning Grants to female composers and the Women Composers Readings and Commissions program through the League of American Orchestras. The foundation also supports the Luna Competition Lab, which targets high-schoolers, and funding for female composition students at the Juilliard School. The foundation has also helped establish an initiative for female choreographers at the School of American Ballet and fund a major study on gender equity in the theater world in 2016. Fighting to promote gender equality in the performing arts, Sanger offered seven leading American orchestras a chance at a $50,000 grant for a new work by an emerging female composer. However, only three orchestras applied.[35]

Education and Recognition

Sanger holds a BA in history from Princeton University, an MBA and JD from Columbia University, and an LLM from New York University.

Sanger spoke at both the 1994 United Nations International Conference on Population and Development and the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. The news website Earth Times named Sanger “One of the 100 Most Influential People on the Planet” in 1995.[36]

Personal life

Sanger is married to Jeannette Watson, former owner of the Manhattan independent book store Books & Co. The couple has three children.[37]

References
  1. Witchel, Alex. "AT WORK WITH: Alexander C. Sanger; In His Grandmother's Footsteps". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  2. Goldberg, Barbara. "Same battles rage on 100 years after first U.S. birth control clinic". Reuters. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  3. Alvarez, Maria. "100 years of Planned Parenthood celebrated at NYC City Hall". Newsday. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  4. Levy, Nicole. "This Is How Margaret Sanger Founded Planned Parenthood in NYC 100 Years Ago". DNAinfo. Archived from the original on 2017-07-30. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  5. Brozan, Nadine. "Another Sanger Leads Planned Parenthood". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  6. Arculus, Paul. Durant's Right-Hand Man. Victoria, BC: Friesen Press. p. 169.
  7. Barringer, Felicity. "Ban on Abortion Counseling Is Struck Down". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  8. "Headliners; Family Tradition". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  9. Belkin, Lisa. "Planned Parenthood of New York Begins Abortion Training". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  10. Barron, James. "More Prospective Obstetricians Will Be Taught Abortion Skills". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  11. Lerner, Sharon. "Abortion's New Choice". The Village Voice. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  12. "Abortion training to be required in standard Ob / Gyn curriculum". Reprod Freedom News. 4: 6–7. 1995. PMID 12346136.
  13. Nagourney, Adam. "Pataki Plans Bill to Protect Abortion Clinics From Harassment". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  14. Brozan, Nadine. "Court Permits Clinic Advice On Abortion". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  15. "Resource Center". National Abortion Federation (NAF). Archived from the original on 5 January 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  16. Krol, Carol. "N.Y. PLANNED PARENTHOOD USES 'PILLOW TALK' TO REACH TEENS". AdvertisingAge. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  17. Lewin, Tamar. "Abortion Group to Advise Doctors On Drug Used to End Pregnancy". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  18. Seelye, Katharine Q. "Ideas & Trends; Enter RU-486, Exit Hype". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  19. "FDA approves first emergency contraceptive kit". CNN. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  20. "Sanger v. Reno, 966 F. Supp. 151 (E.D.N.Y. 1997)". Justia US Law. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  21. Sanger, Alexander. "Why Trump's Global Gag Rule international abortion restrictions are so dangerous". New York Daily News. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  22. Sanger, Alexander. "Herman Cain's Planned Parenthood 'genocide' slur". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  23. Sanger, Alexander. "MARGARET SANGER, TUSKEGEE, AND THE EUGENICS LIE". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  24. Sanger, Alexander. "Eugenics, Race, and Margaret Sanger Revisited: Reproductive Freedom for All?". Project MUSE. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  25. Sanger, Alexander. "Myth of Back-Alley Abortions Refuses to Die; Protect Targeted Clinics". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  26. Sanger, Alexander. "Contraceptive Care". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  27. "BEYOND CHOICE: Reproductive Freedom in the 21st Century". Publisher's Weekly. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  28. Mundy, Liza. "Abortion, the Family Enhancer?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  29. Pogrebin, Robin. "BAM Has a New Display of Michael Graves Murals". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  30. "Past Gallery Events - Cuneen-Hackett Arts Center". Cuneen-Hackett Arts Center. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
  31. "The Maine I Love - Alexander Sanger". Maine Boats.
  32. Sien, Edward. "Toulmin Foundation Grants Benefit Vocal Arts Students". The Juilliard Journal. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  33. Scutari, Mike. "How Is the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Supporting Female Composers?". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  34. "Spring 2015 News" (PDF). The School of American Ballet. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  35. Midgette, Anne (November 3, 2017). "Perspective | Female composers are making great strides. The classical music world isn't helping them". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  36. "Alexander Sanger". Rewire. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  37. Witchel, Alex. "AT WORK WITH: Alexander C. Sanger; In His Grandmother's Footsteps". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
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