Alexander C. Sanger papers

Alexander C. Sanger is an American reproductive rights activist and, as of 2019, the current chair of the International Planned Parenthood Council. He is the grandson of Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood. He was born November 25, 1947 in New York City, the fourth child (of six) of Grant and Edwina Campbell Sanger. He was raised in Mt. Kisco, New York and attended the Bedford Rippowam School until eighth grade and then Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, followed by Princeton University, where he wrote his senior thesis on his grandmother, Margaret Sanger. He remembers being, in 1968, the first researcher in his grandmother’s archives at Smith College. Archivists, led by Margaret Grierson, were still unpacking and cataloguing cartons of Margaret Sanger’s letters, speeches and other documents.

Sanger is the author of Beyond Choice: Reproductive Freedom in the 21st Century (2004). Sanger is Chair of the International Planned Parenthood Council and has served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund. He previously served as the President of Planned Parenthood of New York City (PPNYC) and its international arm, The Margaret Sanger Center International (MSCI) for ten years from 1991 - 2000. As president of PPNYC during the 1990's, Sanger led the agency in many political and social triumphs. In May 1991, he and PPNYC's Board of directors decided to reject federal funding tied to the Gag Rule that would have prohibited its medical professionals from mentioning abortion when counseling patients. Shortly after assuming the Presidency of PPNYC, Sanger launched the Clinician Training Initiative, designed to address the disturbing fact that few doctors were trained or willing to perform abortions. Since its inception in 1993, the program has trained over 100 Ob-Gyn residents and has accomplished two major policy victories with lasting national impact. In response to PPNYC's recommendation, the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education began requiring all Ob-Gyn residents to be trained in performing abortions. PPNYC also persuaded New York State officials to allow physician assistants to perform abortions. Sanger established PPNYC as a leader in medical abortion. PPNYC was the first to offer medical abortions using methotrexate to patients, and sponsored a national conference in May 1997 to educate the medical community about the merits, methods and concerns of medical abortions, preparing the way for providers to add RU-486 to their services. Under Sanger's stewardship, PPNYC acted as a vigilant watchdog over local, state and federal policies affecting women's reproductive health. Due to PPNYC's 1995 petition, the FDA announced in February of 1997 that birth control pills could be used safely and effectively as an emergency contraceptive. And when federal restrictions were established prohibiting the dispersal of abortion information on the Internet, Sanger brought suit (Sanger v. Reno), against the government to enjoin the law's enforcement of The Communications Decency Act of 1996.

As a spokesperson and advocate, Sanger was named One of the 100 Most Influential People on the Planet in 1995 by Earth Times. He attended and lectured at both the 1994 United Nations International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo and The United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women at Beijing in 1995. Sanger directed extensive lobbying efforts to convince members of Congress to unlock international family planning funds in early 1997 and each year thereafter. He is committed to raising awareness in America and throughout the world about the need and demand in developing countries for quality reproductive health care, education and facilities. Sanger's background also includes six years as a partner in the law firm of White and Case and three years running a manufacturing business. In addition to his BA in history from Princeton, he holds a doctor of jurisprudence and master of business administration degrees from Columbia University, and a master of laws from New York University.