Marie Stopes opened the UK's first birth control clinic 100 years ago – she was also a eugenicist

By Agnes Arnold-Forster, Research Fellow, History of Medicine and Healthcare, University of Bristol

Marie Stopes opened Britain’s first clinic offering birth control advice to married women. Born in Edinburgh in 1880, Stopes was an author, women’s rights campaigner and trained paleobotanist. She railed against the Catholic church and the male-dominated medical establishment. And her work – including her 1918 book Married Love – was pioneering.

She was also a fierce advocate…

Read complete article

~	Envoy’s plan to fight antisemitism would put universities on notice over funding

~	Skorts revolutionised how women and girls play sport. But in 2025, are they regressive?

~	Politics with Michelle Grattan: Larissa Waters on why we deserve more than a government that just tinkers

~	First the dire wolf, now NZ’s giant moa: why real ‘de-extinction’ is unlikely to fly

~	UK: Government’s unchecked use of tech and AI systems leading to exclusion of people with disabilities and other marginalized groups

~	Emptying Moldova: the four waves of Moldovan emigration

~	Two books on the mushroom trial are already cooking. What are the risks and rewards of fast books on big news?

~	How can we stay safe after data breaches? Step 1 is to change the cybersecurity laws

~	That $20 dress direct from China now costs $30 after Trump closed a tariff loophole – and the US will soon end the ‘de minimis’ exemption for the rest of the world, too

~	Melting ice will strengthen the monsoon in northern Australia – but cause drier conditions north of the Equator