Betty Mary Goetting

Betty Mary Goetting (née Smith 1897-1980) was an American librarian, civic leader[1] and women's rights activist. She is known for bringing Planned Parenthood to El Paso, Texas.[2]

Betty Mary Goetting
Born
Betty Mary Smith

1897
Jefferson, Texas
Died1980
El Paso, Texas
CitizenshipUnited States
OccupationLibrarian
EmployerEl Paso Public Library
Known forBringing birth control and Planned Parenthood to El Paso, Texas.

Biography

Goetting was born 1897 in Jefferson, Texas.[3] She and her family moved to El Paso in 1910.[2] In 1913, she started working at the El Paso Public Library and became close to librarian, Maud Durlin Sullivan.[4] In 1915, she graduated from El Paso High School and then went to California to attend the Riverside Library Service School in 1917.[2]

Goetting was appointed as an assistant at the New York Reference Library in 1918.[2] While in New York, Goetting got involved with the Women's Suffrage movement and the birth control movement.[2] She returned to El Paso in 1919 and married Charles A. Goetting.[4]

Goetting became very involved in social groups starting in the 1920s.[5] Some of her involvement in the social world were merely for fun, like the Saturday Bridge Club.[6] Goetting had other interests, such as history and reading. She created the first book club in El paso and co-founded the History Club in El Paso in 1926.[4] Later, she became a charter member of the El Paso Historical Society (EPHS).[4] She was a curator for EPHS for over 15 years.[4] She was also a frequent contributor to their newsletter, Passwords.

Goetting met Margaret Sanger in 1937 when she spoke "to a packed house" at the Paso del Norte Hotel.[4] Sanger and Goetting became close, Goetting often hosting her at her home.[7][8] Goetting recognized a need for birth control services in El Paso and wanted to start a clinic. She began to search for rental property, but "as soon as property owners knew what the property was to be used for, prices doubled."[4] With the help of her family, the clergy and several doctors she finally set up the first clinic in 1937, called the El Paso Mother's Health Center (later Planned Parenthood Center of El Paso.)[9][10] By 1938, they had helped 731 patients in under a year.[4] Sanger wrote to Goetting that year, praising her work.[11] 1939, they changed the name to the El Paso Birth Control Clinic.[4] In 1940, she helped open an axillary clinic in 1940 and by 1954, she had three facilities and all of them affiliated with Planned Parenthood of America.[4]

In 1966, she was presented with the National Margaret Sanger Award for her work in promoting birth control.[12] In 1970, she received a Presidential Award for her work as a curator for the EPHS.[13] Goetting continued to fight for women's access to birth control until her death in 1980.[4] In 2009, Goetting was inducted into the Hall of Honor, presented by the El Paso County Historical Society.[3][14]

References
  1. Metz, Leon (1999). El Paso: Guided Through Time. El Paso, Texas: Mangan Books. p. 57. ISBN 9780930208370.
  2. "Betty Mary Smith Goetting Papers, 1910-1979, MS 316" (PDF). C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department. University of Texas at El Paso Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  3. "Historical Society to Honor Three El Pasoans". El Paso, Inc. 12 October 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  4. Wilson, Kim; Van Velkinburgh, Jane (2010). "Betty Mary Goetting Brought Birth Control to El Paso". Borderlands. El Paso Community College Library. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  5. "Betty Mary Smith Goetting". Digie. El Paso Museum of History. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  6. "Miss Tallulah Ellis to Entertain Bridge Club in First Fall Meeting". El Paso Herald. 24 September 1920. Retrieved 14 August 2015 – via University of North Texas Libraries.
  7. "U.S. Health Plan Seen as Foe of Planned Parenthood". The Public Writings and Speeches of Margaret Sanger, 1911-1960. Margaret Sanger Project. 2 May 1949. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  8. "Mrs. Sanger Forecasts Use of Tea for Birth Control". The Public Writings and Speeches of Margaret Sanger. Margaret Sanger Project. 9 April 1953. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  9. Weiser, Abbie (7 December 2009). "Guide to MS286 Planned Parenthood of El Paso Records". University of Texas at El Paso Libraries. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  10. "Planned Parenthood Center of El Paso, Inc". Zoom Information Inc. July 2015 – via Lexis Nexus.
  11. "Sanger Slept (Spoke) Here - Hotel Paso de Norte, El Paso, Texas (February 1937)". Margaret Sanger Papers Project. 26 February 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  12. "Mrs. Charles Goetting Receives Sanger Award". El Paso Herald-Post. 29 April 1966.
  13. "A Presidential Award". El Paso Herald-Post. 20 November 1970.
  14. "The 2014 Hall of Honor Banquet". El Paso County Historical Society. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
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