Alan F. Guttmacher

Biographical Information

"Alan F. Guttmacher (1898-1974) was President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) from 1962 to 1974. During his tenure, Guttmacher counseled women on reproductive health matters and was an advocate for family planning and women's reproductive rights. Guttmacher was an obstetrician, gynecologist, and family planning advocate in Baltimore, MD before relocating to New York City in 1952 to The Mount Sinai Hospital, and later to the PPFA...

"While practicing at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, Guttmacher served as director of the Margaret Sanger Research Bureau (MSRB), a facility that worked closely with the PPFA and focused on the service, research, training in the control of human reproduction, from 1959 to 1962. Guttmacher left Mount Sinai in 1962, when he was named President of the PPFA. He served as President of the PPFA until his death in 1974.

"Guttmacher first became involved in the family planning movement in Baltimore, when as an intern, he watched a woman die from a failed abortion. He subsequently became an active member and advocate for women's reproductive rights at the Baltimore PPFA affiliate; he later became nationally involved in the organization when he moved to New York in 1952. Guttmacher served as the volunteer chairman of Planned Parenthood's National Medical Committee before assuming the PPFA presidency in 1962.

"As President, Guttmacher spearheaded PPFA's transition to a social advocate for the problems of poverty in the United States. In the early 1960s, the PPFA merged with an existing national program, World Population Emergency Campaign, to provide voluntary family planning services to low-income communities who needed and wanted them, and to highlight the inadequacies of health care for the poor. By 1968, the organization assisted the government in the creation of public policy and programs. Guttmacher also worked closely with the leadership of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) throughout the 1960s to advocate for family planning programs in Asia, Latin America, and Africa in an effort to curb global overpopulation..."

"Guttmacher, Alan Frank, physician; b. Balt., May 19, 1898; s. Adolf and Laura (Oppenheimer) G.; A.B., Johns Hopkins, 1919, M.D., 1923; D.Sc. (hon.), Brandeis U., Dartmouth Coll., 1970; m. Leonore Gidding, July 22, 1925; children—Ann (Mrs. Robert Loeb), Sally (Mrs. Eric Holtzman), Susan (Mrs. Ben Green). Intern Johns Hopkins Hosp., 1925–26; asst. in anatomy Johns Hopkins, 1923–24, U. Rochester, 1924–25; various positions from resident to asso. prof. obstetrics Johns Hopkins, 1926–52; practice medicine, specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, Balt., 1929–52, N.Y.C., 1952—; former chief obstetrics and gynecology Mt. Sinai Hosp.; emeritus prof. obstetrics-gynecology Mt. Sinai Med. Sch.; vis. prof. Einstein Med. Sch. Pres. Planned Parenthood Fedn., 1962; bd. dirs. Margaret Sanger Research Bur. Recipient Lasker award, 1947; Bronfman award, 1970. Diplomate Am. Bd. Obstetrics and Gynecology. Fellow Assn. Obstetrics and Gynecology, N.Y. Acad. Medicine, N.Y. Obstet. Soc. (past pres.). Author: Life in the Making, 1933; Into This Universe, 1937; Pregnancy and Birth, 1957; Babies by Choice or Chance, 1959; (with J. Rovinsky, Williams, Wilkins) Complications of Pregnancy, rev., 1965; Complete Book of Birth Control, 1961; Planning Your Family, 1964; Birth Control and Love, 1969; Understanding Sex, 1970. Home: 1185 Park Av New York City NY 10028 Office: 810 7th Av New York City NY 10019"

• Founder, Guttmacher Institute