The eugenics movement originally began in the late 1870s due to the idea that the lower classes, criminals, poverty, feeble-minded people, and disease were hereditary and reproduction would create an unfit population in the United States. Forced sterilizations and the introduction of birth control began with the request to eliminate populations deemed inferior. The early history of the birth control pill was a form of eugenics and was not only oppressive to women of color but also to women across the United States. In the second decade of the twentieth century, the birth control movement in the United States became an important topic among Americans. It was during this time that Margaret Sanger, the future founder of Planned Parenthood, became involved in the radical movement for voluntary motherhood and the distribution of contraceptives (Hartmann). As a nurse she helped poor women give birth and saw the effect of having too many children on these women's well-being. She also saw the suffering, pain and death of many women who obtained clandestine and unsafe abortions to avoid having more children (Shaw, Lee). Banned by the Comstock Laws, which “made it a crime to sell or distribute materials that could be used for contraception or abortion” (“Comstock Law of 1873”); Sanger could not share information about how to prevent pregnancy. In her article, My Struggle for Birth Control, Sanger tells the story of a woman who wanted to know how to prevent pregnancy. The doctor's solution was: “I'll tell you the only safe thing to do. Tell Jake to sleep on the roof!” (My fight for birth control). Months later the same woman died due to an abortion. From then on Margaret became adamant about how women should have knowledge of contraception, a… half paper… life control pill when they were being targeted to decrease population growth due to their socioeconomic class . and race. African American women were oppressed due to their history of forced sterilization and African American men wanting them to reproduce quickly. Planned Parenthoods were strategically placed in areas highly populated by African Americans and subsequently their growth rate declined dramatically. Women of all races, socioeconomic classes, and educational levels have experienced the oppressive social stigma of promiscuity once they receive a prescription for birth control pills. Finally, women also felt burdened by the feeling that they could never refuse sex just because they were on the pill. The early history of the birth control pill demonstrates that it was not only oppressive to minorities, but also to women throughout the United States..