Free Republic

UK’s abortion chain Marie Stopes International (MSI) has announced a name change in an effort to distance itself from the eugenicist for whom it was named. According to a press release, Marie Stopes International will now do business under the moniker “MSI Reproductive Choices.” While the organization claimed the name change had been under review for some time, it pointed to “the events of the past year and the critical global conversations about race and diversity” which it said “reinforced to us that changing our name now is the right decision.” The move comes shortly after Planned Parenthood, the largest...

In the 1920s, a legal victory against the rising eugenic tide was won by a Catholic doctor over prominent birth control advocate Marie Stopes. While Stopes is lauded today as a feminist hero, the story of the eugenics libel trial has been largely overlooked. Marie Stopes in her laboratory in 1904. (Image via Wikipedia) Editor’s note: This is the first of two articles on the Stopes v. Sutherland libel trial. In 1923 in Britain, a Catholic doctor won an important victory in the battle against one of the most harmful ideologies of the 20th century: eugenics. The battle was fought...