Mary Calderone

Mary Steichen Calderone was an American physician, author, public speaker, and public health advocate for reproductive rights and sex education. Known as the "mother of sex education" as well as the "grande dame of sex education", Dr. Calderone was an instrumental figure in the advancement of reproductive rights and sex education in the United States. Among her most notable feats include playing a key role in pushing forward a movement to reexamine and reform abortion laws in the U.S., helping to move birth control into the mainstream of American medicine, and transforming sex education from "a series of vague moral lessons focused on disease and reproduction" to a scientifically informed, comprehensive framework.