Home » Working Women » Women from History » Maria Stopes An advocate of birth control, in 1921, Maria Stopes founded the first instructional clinic for contraception. Her clinical work, writing and speeches evoked violent opposition especially from the Roman Catholics. Eventually, she influenced the Church of England to gradually relax its stand against birth control.

The failure of her first marriage in 1916 caused her to focus on the problems of marriage. Stopes initially saw birth control as an aid to marriage fulfillment and as a means to save women from the physical stress of excessive child bearing.

In 1918, she married Humphrey Verdon Roe, Co-founder of the A V Roe aircraft firm, who helped her in the crusade. Together, they founded their own clinic for birth control, three years later in Holloway district of London.

In the mean time, Stope wrote books such as " Married Love " and " Wise Parenthood " which were widely translated. Her book " Contraception : Its Theory, History and Practice", was when it first appeared, the most comprehensive treatment of the subject. After the World War she even promoted birth control in the East Asian countries.

[ 1880 - 1958 ]