<P> While Sanger was in Europe, her husband continued her work, which led to his arrest after he distributed a copy of a birth control pamphlet to an undercover postal worker . The arrest and his 30 - day jail sentence prompted several mainstream publications, including Harper's Weekly and the New - York Tribune, to publish articles about the birth control controversy . Emma Goldman and Ben Reitman toured the country, speaking in support of the Sangers, and distributing copies of Sanger's pamphlet Family Limitation . Sanger's exile and her husband's arrest propelled the birth control movement into the forefront of American news . </P> <P> In the spring of 1915 supporters of the Sangers--led by Mary Dennett--formed the National Birth Control League (NBCL), which was the first American birth control organization . Throughout 1915, smaller regional organizations were formed in San Francisco, Portland, Oregon, Seattle, and Los Angeles . </P> <P> Sanger returned to the United States in October 1915 . She planned to open a birth control clinic modeled on the world's first such clinic, which she had visited in Amsterdam . She first had to fight the charges outstanding against her . Noted attorney Clarence Darrow offered to defend Sanger free of charge but, bowing to public pressure, the government dropped the charges early in 1916 . No longer under the threat of jail, Sanger embarked on a successful cross-country speaking tour, which catapulted her into the leadership of the U.S. birth control movement . Other leading figures, such as William J. Robinson and Mary Dennett, chose to work in the background, or turned their attention to other causes . Later in 1916, Sanger traveled to Boston to lend her support to the Massachusetts Birth Control League and to jailed birth control activist Van Kleeck Allison . </P> <P> During Sanger's 1916 speaking tour, she promoted birth control clinics based on the Dutch model she had observed during her 1914 trip to Europe . Although she inspired many local communities to create birth control leagues, no clinics were established . Sanger therefore resolved to create a birth control clinic in New York that would provide free contraceptive services to women . New York state law prohibited the distribution of contraceptives or even contraceptive information, but Sanger hoped to exploit a provision in the law which permitted doctors to prescribe contraceptives for the prevention of disease . On October 16, 1916, she, partnering with Fania Mindell and Ethel Byrne, opened the Brownsville clinic in Brooklyn . The clinic was an immediate success, with over 100 women visiting on the first day . A few days after opening, an undercover policewoman purchased a cervical cap at the clinic, and Sanger was arrested . Refusing to walk, Sanger and a co-worker were dragged out of the clinic by police officers . The clinic was shut down, and it was not until 1923 that another birth control clinic was opened in the United States . </P>

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