Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood of Greater New York to Remove Founder's Name From Center Over ‘Racist Legacy'

In founding The Birth Control Review, Margaret Sanger tried to align herself with the American eugenics movement

Undated photograph of Margaret Sanger
Getty Images

Planned Parenthood of Greater New York announced Tuesday that it would remove the name of the national organization's founder from its Manhattan clinic due to her "racist legacy" stemming from her well-documented connections with the eugenics movement.

Planned Parenthood's Manhattan Margaret Sanger Health Center will be renamed, and Planned Parenthood of Greater New York is working with the city to also rename an honorary street sign that marks “Margaret Sanger Square” at the corner where the center stands, PPGNY said in a statement.

The decision comes as a result of "a public commitment to reckon with its founder’s harmful connections to the eugenics movement," the statement said.

“The removal of Margaret Sanger’s name from our building is both a necessary and overdue step to reckon with our legacy and acknowledge Planned Parenthood’s contributions to historical reproductive harm within communities of color,” said PPGNY board chair Karen Seltzer. “Margaret Sanger’s concerns and advocacy for reproductive health have been clearly documented, but so too has her racist legacy."

Read the full story at NBCNews.com.

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