Dorothea Palmer

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Dorothea Palmer Ferguson' (d. 1992) was a Canadian who played a prominent role in the effort to legalize birth control in that country. In September 1936, when she was 28, she was arrested for distributing information on contraception to women in the poor Ottawa community of Eastview. A nurse by training, she was doing so on behalf of the Parent's Information Bureau, which was funded by wealthy business man A.R. Kaufman. Kaufman welcomed the chance to test Canada's laws in court, and spent the then considerable sum of $25,000 mounting a defence.

The trial attracted both Canada's most prominent advocates for birth control, and also representatives of the major churches and other birth control opponents. During the trial Palmer was the subject of attacks and abuse by those who opposed her. In one incident a man pulled her into an alley and attempted to rape her, telling her that he'd "show you what it's like without any birth control." Palmer managed to knee him in the groin and escape.

The court acquitted Palmer on the basis that what she was doing was not for profit, but rather in the interest of the public good. It was a landmark trial, and while contraception was not fully legalized in Canada for another three decades no other person was ever prosecuted for distributing information about birth control in the country.

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[edit] References

  • "History marks a page for Dorothea Palmer" Frank Jones. Toronto Star. Nov 12, 1992. pg. C.1
  • "Did dirty work for men at trial, pioneer of birth control says" Joan Hollobon. The Globe and Mail. Nov 30, 1978. pg. T.3
  • "A. R. Kaufman Industrialist was pioneer in fight to establish birth control clinics" The Globe and Mail. Feb 2, 1979. pg. P.40