Beasley in Hamilton, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

Canada’s First Birth Control Clinic

Photographed by Tim Boyd, April 20, 2023

1. Canada’s First Birth Control Clinic Marker

Inscription. The first Family Planning Clinic in Canada, located in Hamilton, began in 1931 as The Advocates of Birth Control. Led by Mary (Chambers) Hawkins, the American wife of a prominent city executive, and aided by some of Hamilton society's leading women, it aimed to meet the needs of people whose health and family lives suffered tremendously during the Great Depression. Canada's criminal code forbade any means of preventing contraception, impeding birth control information dissemination although local police never intervened. Some opposition came from certain Hamilton clerics and traditionalists who viewed birth control as a 'dirty thing'. Some physicians even refused to rent the clinic medical building space. In 1932, a local doctor provided his unused Walnut Street surgery and news of the clinic spread by word of mouth. Volunteer-run and funded by donation, it had doctors and nurses going to New York for their training. Dr. Elizabeth Bagshaw, the clinic's first regular physician, served Hamilton's women and their families for thirty-one years, free of charge. By the end of its first year, some 398 local women were helped.

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Hamilton's maternal death rate began to drop from being the highest to the lowest of any Canadian city. In 1937 when courts ruled that birth control clinics could act freely for the common good, governments began financing clinics. Hamilton's second clinic opened on Kenilworth Avenue and its Health Department began developing complementary programmes. Today, birth control information and devices are freely available at most medical facilities.

Erected by City of Hamilton.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Science & Medicine • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1931.

Location. 43° 15.243′ N, 79° 51.731′ W. Marker is in Hamilton, Ontario. It is in Beasley. It is at the intersection of Ferguson Avenue South and King Street East, on the left when traveling south on Ferguson Avenue South. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Hamilton ON L8N 1B5, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe,

in the Hamilton-Halton-Brant Area,

and specifically in the Toronto Metropolitan Area.

It is also in Central Canada.

Globally,

Photographed by Tim Boyd, April 20, 2023

2. Canada’s First Birth Control Clinic Marker

it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Copp Block (about 180 meters away, measured in a direct line); 320 King Street East (about 180 meters away); The Place of Firsts (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Sir John Morison Gibson (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Former Dominion Public Building (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); George Hamilton 1787-1836 (approx. half a kilometer away); The City of Hamilton Cenotaph (approx. half a kilometer away); The United Empire Loyalists (approx. half a kilometer away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hamilton.

Also see . . . heritagematters.ca - Elizabeth Bagshaw: Fighting for Reproductive Rights in Canada.

When Dr. Elizabeth Bagshaw retired in 1976, she was the oldest physician practising in Canada. In her illustrious 70-year career, Bagshaw treated
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thousands of patients and delivered more than 3,000 babies. She was the recipient of a number of accolades, including the Order of Canada, the Governor General’s Persons Award, Hamilton’s Person of the Year, inductee of the Medical Hall of Fame, and subject of a 1978 National Film Board documentary.

(Submitted on April 20, 2023, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario.)

Credits. This page was last revised on April 22, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 20, 2023, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. This page has been viewed 517 times since then and 46 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 20, 2023, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.