Senator Montgomery Receives The 2008 Margaret Sanger Award

Albany, NY (March 11, 2008): At the 31st Annual Conference of Family Planning Advocates of New York State, Senator Velmanette Montgomery (D-Brooklyn) was presented The 2008 Margaret Sanger Award in recognition of her leadership on women’s health issues.

This distinguished award was presented by Joan Malin, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of New York City, at the Empire State Convention Center in Albany, NY.

"Senator Montgomery is a passionate advocate for New York's women and families," said JoAnn M. Smith, president and CEO of Family Planning Advocates (FPA) of New York State. "She exemplifies the dedication and determination that Margaret Sanger displayed in her time, and is truly deserving of this recognition."

Born in 1879 in Corning, New York, Margaret Sanger was the founder of the American Birth Control League (which eventually became Planned Parenthood). In 1916, Sanger opened a family planning and birth control clinic at 46 Amboy Street in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, which Montgomery represents in the State Senate.

As the Ranking Democrat on the Senate Social Services, Children and Families Committee, Senator Montgomery is recognized for co-sponsoring laws creating the Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, prohibiting the ritual practice of female genital mutilation, and giving mothers the right to breast feed their babies in any public or private location.

Senator Montgomery is credited with helping frame the Women’s Health and Wellness Law, which expands women’s access to reproductive and other preventive health services. She is also a proponent of school-based health centers, and believes that age-appropriate, medically-accurate sex education should be taught in kindergarten through the 12th Grade.