Planned Parenthood Founder Margaret Sanger Wanted to Get Rid of “Unfit” People

History often gives us striking juxtapositions—stories of two individuals whose lives draw sharp lines between competing worldviews. Such is the case with Margaret Sanger and Margaret (Peggy) Hartshorn—two women who each left a profound mark on the conversation surrounding human life, but whose values and visions could not be more different.

Margaret Sanger

Margaret Sanger (1879–1966), founder of what would eventually become Planned Parenthood, championed birth control and population control in the early 20th century. To many, she is portrayed as a pioneer of women’s “reproductive freedom.” But a closer look reveals troubling roots. Sanger’s worldview placed autonomy and self-determination above the sanctity of life itself. In her eyes, life was negotiable, especially the lives of those she deemed “unfit.”

Sanger openly promoted eugenics —the belief that the human race could be improved by discouraging the reproduction of people with what she deemed as having undesirable traits. Her writings and public statements often linked birth control with the goal of “weeding out the unfit,” and she advocated for policies that would limit births among the poor, the disabled, and minority populations. Rather than cherishing every life as sacred and worthy of dignity, Sanger viewed many lives as burdens to be eliminated or prevented.

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Her movement was built on the premise that women could only be free if they were no longer bound by the possibility of motherhood. Liberation, in her mind, meant separation from the natural gift of life. The results of that philosophy are seen today in a culture where abortion is often promoted as empowerment, and where the value of life is weighed against convenience, cost, or circumstance.

Margaret (Peggy) Hartshorn

In contrast stands Margaret (Peggy) Hartshorn, a name less known in the mainstream but revered in the movement to protect life. As the longtime leader of Heartbeat International, Peggy Hartshorn has spent her life affirming the value of every human being, born and unborn, by building and strengthening a global network of pregnancy help centers that offer real choices to women in crisis.

Where Sanger championed the ideology of self over others, Peggy has quietly lived out a gospel of sacrificial love. She and her husband began by opening their own home to pregnant women in need, embodying the belief that true freedom for a woman doesn’t come from ending a pregnancy—but from being surrounded by people who will walk with her in love.

That foundational belief led Peggy to develop what is now known as the LOVE Approach, a simple yet profound model of care embraced by thousands of pregnancy help organizations around the world. The acronym LOVE stands for Listen and Learn, Open Options, Vision and Value, and Extend and Empower, a framework rooted in compassion, practical help, and unwavering respect for the woman and her child. This approach doesn’t just provide alternatives to abortion; it offers a path to hope, healing, and a future filled with possibility.

Peggy’s legacy is one of hope and healing. Under her leadership, Heartbeat International has equipped pregnancy help organizations in over 100 countries to offer ultrasounds, maternity housing, post-abortion healing, and life-affirming care. Her vision values both mother and child, recognizing the inherent worth in every person regardless of age, ability, race, or circumstances.

Yet her legacy isn’t only global—it’s deeply personal. To meet Peggy in person is to experience the sanctity of life firsthand. The genuine kindness in her voice, the warmth in her eyes, and the patient attention she gives to each individual testify to the deep-rooted conviction that every life matters. There is no pretense in her advocacy—no hint of agenda or performative concern. She lives the pro-life message with every handshake, every conversation, every act of grace. Peggy’s presence alone affirms the truth that life is sacred, not in theory, but in each person we encounter.

Two Margarets. Two movements. Two moral compasses.

Margaret Sanger’s legacy continues today in the abortion industry, a system built on fear, control, and the belief that some lives are disposable. In just one year, Planned Parenthood performed over 402,000 abortions across the U.S., according to its 2023–2024 Annual Report. That’s more than 1,100 unborn lives lost every single day.

In a powerful and providential contrast, Heartbeat International answers roughly 1,100 calls a day through its 24/7 Option Line—a helpline offering women compassionate, life-affirming support the moment they need it most. One movement ends life. The other answers the call to save it.

The difference in daily impact is staggering—and it’s no coincidence. The leaders behind each movement shaped these outcomes. Sanger laid the foundation for a culture of death, masked in the language of rights and autonomy. Peggy Hartshorn built a legacy of love, rooted in the unshakable belief that no one should have to face pregnancy alone, and no life is beyond value.

What Sanger’s movement ends, Peggy’s movement nurtures. Where Planned Parenthood sees a problem to solve, Peggy sees a person to love.

Even Planned Parenthood has attempted to distance itself from Sanger’s eugenic roots, removing her name from its Manhattan facility. Yet no amount of rebranding can undo the consequences of a philosophy that devalues life at its most vulnerable.

Meanwhile, Peggy Hartshorn’s legacy continues to grow, not just in buildings or programs, but in families restored, babies born, and women empowered with the truth that they are never alone.

The contrast is clear: one woman spent her life encouraging the world to live for self and to deny the value of lives deemed inconvenient. The other has spent her life defending the dignity of all life and serving those in need with courage and compassion.

In a culture still wrestling with the question of what it means to be free, the story of these two Margarets reminds us that true freedom is not found in rejecting life, but in embracing it.

LifeNews Note: Andrea Trudden serves as the Vice President of Communications & Marketing at Heartbeat International, overseeing the public presence of the organization and its network of more than 3,600 pregnancy help organizations worldwide. This column originally appeared at Pregnancy Help News.

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