Planned Parenthood's Origins
Margaret Sanger, the renowned early
20th-century advocate of family planning,
announced the opening of the first birth
control clinic in the United States, located in
Brownsville, Brooklyn, in 1916.
Mrs. Sanger, a visiting nurse in the slums of
New York City, became interested in birth
control in 1912. At that time, poverty and
poor health often went hand-in-hand with
large families.
Contraception and basic reproductive information were not
discussed openly. She and many other women defied convention
and broke laws by openly discussing and disseminating
contraception information.
As no doctor would help her, she and her sister ran the
Brownsville clinic. The police closed it down, arrested Sanger for
"creating a public nuisance" by distributing birth control
information, and jailed her for thirty days. Five years later, in
1921, Sanger formed the American Birth Control League, the
precursor to Planned Parenthood.
The Early Years
1927 - A group of New Jersey women became interested in Mrs.
Sanger's work and decided to help needy married women in New
Jersey obtain contraception information. They ran a series of 137
lectures, calling attention to "the desirability of making
motherhood voluntary and intelligent, rather than accidental and
indiscriminate." Local committees were organized in seven New
Jersey cities: Englewood, Montclair, Morristown, Newark,
Plainfield, Short Hills, and Summit.
1928 - In April, the New Jersey Birth Control League was founded
and opened its first clinic, The Newark Maternal Health Center,
which drew women from all over the state. Funded entirely from
private donations, the clinic was staffed by a doctor and a
nurse/receptionist. Criteria for the early patients were that a
woman had to be married, have at least five children, and be
unable to afford a private physician.
The Middle Years
1932 - Planned Parenthood of Northwest New Jersey came into
being as a result of Margaret Sanger's visit to Morristown, where
she spoke to a group of prominent citizens, later described by The
Morristown Daily Record as "stout hearted." These women then
formed the Morristown Council of New Jersey Birth Control League,
Maternal Health Center.
Mrs. Sanger also spoke before a group of women in Union County.
The initial service they provided was carpooling women to the
Newark Maternal Health Center.
1933 - A Maternal Health Center in Plainfield opened at 705 Park
Avenue. The clinic moved several times between 1933 and 1962.
1934 - The Englewood Birth Control Council opened the first clinic in
Bergen County.
1935 - The Morris County Maternal Health Center opened its first
center in the Park Square Building on the Morristown Green.
Between 1935 and 1982, the Center moved several times.
1938 - The Englewood clinic evolved into the Bergen County
Maternal Health Center, incorporated to serve the entire county.
1940's - An educational affiliate of the National Birth Control League
was established in Westfield.
1941 - The New Jersey Birth Control League was renamed the New
Jersey League for Planned Parenthood.
1942 - The Bergen County Maternal Health center became an
affiliate of Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA).
1943 - The program of the Bergen County Maternal Health Center
expanded to include referrals for infertility and marriage counseling.
1948 - The Plainfield Birth Control League officially affiliated with
PPFA and became known as Plainfield League for Planned
Parenthood.
1956 - The Morristown Council of New Jersey Birth Control League
changed its name to Planned Parenthood, Morris Area, Inc.
1962 - The Bergen County Maternal Health Center moved to
Hackensack.
1963 - PP Morris Area opened a center in Branchville, Sussex
County.
1964 - PP Morris Area opened a Dover Center.
1965 - The Plainfield League for PP merged with the Westfield
Committee. Representing Union County, they then joined with
Middlesex and Somerset counties to form Planned Parenthood
Tri-County League.
The Bergen County Maternal Health Center changed its name to
Planned Parenthood of Bergen County, Inc.
1966 - PP Tri-County League opened its second clinic, a storefront in
the Elizabeth Port area. The Elizabeth Center moved several times
between 1966 and 1985.
1969 - PP Tri-County opened a third clinic, at Elizabeth General
Hospital, that operated for 10 years.
1970 - The Morristown Center moved to 197 Speedwell Avenue,
where it would remain for 12 years.
PP Tri-County League opened a family planning clinic at Middlesex
General Hospital.
1971 - PP Morris Area opened the Hackettstown Center in Warren
County and the Boonton Center in Morris County.
1972 - Middlesex County PP became a separate Planned
Parenthood affiliate. PP Tri-County League changed its name to
Planned Parenthood of Union County Area (PPUCA).
1973 - PP Bergen County relocated to 485 Main Street, Hackensack.
1974 - The PP Bergen County Board voted to serve minors without
parental consent.
With the opening of a Phillipsburg center, PP Morris Area now had
centers in Branchville, Boonton, Dover, Franklin, Hackettstown,
Morristown, Parsippany, and Phillipsburg.
PPUCA leased the third floor of 234 Park Avenue in Plainfield for
Administration, Education, Library.
1975 - PP Bergen County established its Information and Education
Department, predecessor to PPGNNJ's Center for Family Life
Education.
PP Morris Area opened its Education and Reading Center at the
Morristown Center.
PP Morris Area opened its third Sussex County Center, in Newton.
1976 - PP Morris Area changed its name to Planned Parenthood of
Northwest New Jersey, Inc. The counties served were Morris,
Sussex, and Warren.
1977 - PP Northwest New Jersey and PP Union County Area joined
with other family planning agencies to form the New Jersey Family
Planning League, a conduit for federal funding and program
oversight.
PP Northwest New Jersey began its teen services program,
COMPASS, with teen clinics, after-school programs, community
outreach, and a newsletter.
1978 - PP Bergen County began reproductive health and education
services for males, only the third program in the United States to do
so.
PP Northwest New Jersey opened a Hunterdon County Center at
14 Court Street in Flemington.
1979 - PP Bergen County purchased its current home at 575 Main
Street, Hackensack and relocated the facility there.
1981 - PP Northwest New Jersey consolidated the Hackettstown and
Phillipsburg, Warren County, operations into a new center in
Washington Township where it remained for 15 years.
1982 - PP Northwest New Jersey purchased its current Morristown
site – a school building, over one hundred years old, at 196 Speedwell
Avenue.
1983 - PP Northwest New Jersey merged its Branchville and
Franklin, Sussex County, operations into the Newton Center.
1985 - PP Bergen County opened a second center at 190 Engle
Street, Englewood.
Following several moves between 1966 and 1985, the Elizabeth
Medical Center moved to 208 Commerce Place, where it remained
for 17 years.
1988 - PP Northwest New Jersey opened a Somerset County Center
in Manville.
Our Merger and Beyond
1990 - Planned Parenthood of Greater Northern New
Jersey (PPGNNJ) was formed by a merger of PP of Northwest New
Jersey (serving Morris, Hunterdon, Somerset, Sussex, and Warren
Counties); PP of Bergen County; and PP of Union County Area.
The Englewood Center moved to its current home at 40 North
Van Brunt Street.
1994 - PPGNNJ purchased a former bank building at 123 Park
Avenue in Plainfield and moved the Plainfield Center to its current site there.
1996 - The Warren County Center moved from Washington
Township to its current location in Phillipsburg.
1999 - The Center for Family Life Education relocated to the
PPGNNJ administrative offices in Morristown.
2002 - PPGNNJ purchased the building at 1150 Dickinson Street
and relocated the Elizabeth Center there. The building also serves
as a "community center," housing a YMCA daycare program and
the counseling programs of Union County Family and Children's
Services.
2005 - The Flemington Center moved to Countryside Plaza on
Route 31 South.
PPGNNJ's 10 Current Locations
Bergen County
Englewood
Hackensack
Hunterdon County
Flemington
Morris County
Dover
Morristown
Somerset County
Manville
Sussex County
Newton
Union County
Elizabeth
Plainfield
Warren County
Phillipsburg
