Summary Information
Beatrice Kabler Papers
1966-1982
Mss 705
2.8 c.f. (2 record center cartons and 2 archives boxes)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers, mainly 1967-1972, of Beatrice Kabler, a Madison, Wisconsin housewife and Republican politician who was a founder and chairman of Wisconsin Citizens for Family Planning, a statewide organization formed in 1966 to revise Wisconsin's restrictive birth control law. The papers, which comprise her files as an officer and lobbyist for that organization, consist of correspondence of Kabler and Marylu Raushenbush, another founder and officer of WCFP; minutes; mailings and informational material issued by WCFP; an extensive reference file concerning family planning, abortion, pregnancy, and related topics; drafts of legislation, public statements, and other material relating to lobbying; information pertaining to the position of Wisconsin Protestant and Catholic churches on the issue; and xeroxed clippings concerning birth control in Wisconsin. Prominent correspondents include Gene Boyer, Kathryn Clarenbach, Alan F. Guttmacher, Robert Kastenmeier, and Gaylord Nelson.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00705 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Housewife, mother, nurse, family planning advocate, and lobbyist Beatrice Kabler was born in Oklahoma in 1928 and raised in that state. She attended Oklahoma College for Women (1945-1946) and Oklahoma State University (1946-1947) and received a nursing degree from the University of Kansas in 1950. While a student there, she met J.D. Kabler, a medical student. They were married in 1950 and shortly thereafter moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where Kabler was an intern at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Mrs. Kabler pursued her career in nursing. While Kabler in the Navy (1952-1953), Mrs. Kabler worked as a maternity nurse at Norfolk General Hospital in Virginia. In 1954 the Kablers returned to Madison where they settled permanently.
During the late 1950's and 1960's Mrs. Kabler became the mother of five children, yet in addition she was also involved in a host of civic organizations and was an active member of the Republican Party. She also served as chairman of the Social Education and Action Committee of the Covenant Presbyterian Church. Through this involvement she learned to express her concerns on race relations and other social issues.
In May, 1966, Kabler and her neighbor Marylu Raushenbush were among a small group of citizens concerned about the family planning situation in Dane County. Their concern arose largely from provisions of the Wisconsin statutes, one of the most restrictive such laws in the nation, which defined contraceptive devices as “indecent articles” and prohibited their sale or distribution to unmarried persons. Although the law was widely disregarded, its provisions made it impossible for social workers to help those most in need of family planning--young people and AFDC mothers.
Shortly thereafter, Kabler and Raushenbush formed a statewide organization, Wisconsin Citizens for Family Planning, in order to change the law and to educate the public about the importance of a positive family planning policy for the state. The WCFP's concern for family planning reflected contemporary concerns for world overpopulation, pollution, the tragedy of unwanted children, the relation between large families and poverty and the cost of welfare programs. Significantly, little of the literature which WCFP distributed discussed birth control as a women's issue.
Marylu Raushenbush was elected first chairman of the group, with Beatrice Kabler serving as vice-chair. In 1968 Kabler was elected chairman. Under their leadership, Wisconsin Citizens for Family Planning attempted a number of strategies in order to effect a change in the legislation. Although Wisconsin Citizens for Family Planning was never a large organization, its lobbying effectiveness was widely acknowledged.
Their first attempt was a bill introduced into the 1967 legislature which they drafted. When the bill was blocked primarily due to opposition from the Catholic Church, WCFP managed to have the issue referred to a special family planning committee of the Legislative Council. In 1969 the bill supported by WCFP was introduced as a minority report of the advisory committee, but it again met stiff opposition not only from individual Catholics but also from several conservative political organizations. Similar opposition continued to block WCFP's lobbying efforts in subsequent legislatures.
In 1974 a three-judge federal panel ruled that the Wisconsin law was unconstitutional. However, the attorney general ruled that a changed policy required new legislation. This was finally accomplished in 1976.
As the chief lobbyist for WCFP Beatrice Kabler found herself increasingly interested in elective office. After the victory on the family planning issue she continued to be active in politics, eventually winning election to the Dane County Board of Supervisors. She also continued to be active in Planned Parenthood and served on a number of family planning committees in Wisconsin.
Scope and Content Note
The papers consist almost entirely of Mrs. Kabler's files on the Wisconsin Citizens for Family Planning. Included are organizational materials, a large reference file, and clippings concerning family planning and birth control in Wisconsin. Taken together, however, Kabler's files do not provide complete documentation of the organization's efforts. Information on the formation of the group is missing. In addition, because the documentation is concentrated on the years 1966-1972 there is little material on the eventual success of their lobbying.
ORGANIZATIONAL MATERIAL consists of by-laws, a few minutes, correspondence, publications and form letters, and membership and mailing lists. The correspondence is divided into letters sent or received by Kabler, letters sent or received by Marylu Raushenbush, and a file of correspondence concerning others.
The correspondence is concentrated about the years 1966-1972. It chiefly documents the various lobbying strategies attempted, the growing sophistication of WCFP's approach, their information gathering, the areas in which support was achieved, and the degree of their involvement with various Wisconsin churches. Correspondence with Wisconsin legislators is less comprehensive (perhaps because such contacts were largely made in person), although there are numerous letters to national legislators including Robert Kastenmeier and Gaylord Nelson. There are also scattered letters from Gene Boyer, Alan F. Guttmacher and Zero Population Growth leader Richard Lamm. There is also correspondence from the group to birth control advocate William Baird.
The file of minutes documents only a few organizational meetings. Interestingly, handwritten notes on the back of the by-laws relate to an early meeting with legislators at which Senator Fred A. Risser, who was a strong advocate of change in the statutes, stated mistakenly that he could not imagine who would oppose such a bill.
Although the majority of the individual items are undated, the file of distributions and form letters to members and legislators provides an extensive view of the group's ideas and strategies. Miscellaneous organizational materials include some financial reports, information on the WCFP booth at the 1967 state fair, and Kabler's interesting notes on the views of individual legislators in 1969. Also filed here is a copy of an undated survey of the legislature concerning views on various environmental matters including a question on birth control. The sponsor of this questionnaire is not indicated. In addition, several issues of a occasional newsletter of the WCFP (1970-1973) are held by the Society Library.
To inform their opinions and actions, Kabler accumulated a large library of REFERENCE MATERIAL and publications. This file has been substantially weeded and publications have been transferred to the Society Library, to other appropriate libraries at the University of Wisconsin, or to the donor. Much of the remaining material is undated and largely consists of near-print material issued by various governmental agencies. Topics treated include abortion, sex education, pregnancy, venereal disease, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (of which Kabler was a member), and various state committees set up to study family planning. Also included here are drafts and annotated copies of various birth control bills and statements, resolutions, and other materials relating to the history of these bills in the legislature. Particularly interesting is the file on the views of various Wisconsin clergymen on the birth control issue.
A CLIPPING file was also maintained by the WCFP for informational reasons. It has been weeded so that it focuses on Wisconsin attitudes and activities about birth control. The file chiefly covers the period 1968 to 1971.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Beatrice Kabler, Madison, Wisconsin, 1984. Accession Number: M84-115, M84-135, M84-290
Processed by Maria C. Caravello (Intern), 1986-1987.
Contents List
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Series: Organizational Material
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Box
1
Folder
1
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By-laws and background material, undated
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Correspondence
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Box
1
Folder
2-10
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Kabler, 1966-1979, undated
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Box
1
Folder
11-12
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Raushenbush, 1966-1970
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Box
1
Folder
13-14
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Miscellaneous correspondents, 1967-1982, undated
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Box
1
Folder
15
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Minutes, 1966-1968
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Box
1
Folder
16
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Mailings and membership lists
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Box
1
Folder
17
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Publications, information sheets, and form letters, 1967-1978
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Box
1
Folder
18
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Environmental questionnaire, undated
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Box
1
Folder
19
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Miscellaneous organizational material, 1967-1970, undated
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Series: Reference Material
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Abortion, undated
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Box
1
Folder
20
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General information
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Box
2
Folder
1
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Legal aspects
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Box
2
Folder
2
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Opposition
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Box
2
Folder
3
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Support
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Box
2
Folder
4
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Child abuse, undated
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Box
2
Folder
4A
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Dane County Family Planning Advisory Council, 1980-1982
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Box
2
Folder
5-7
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Family planning, undated
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Box
2
Folder
8
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Genetic counseling, undated
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Box
2
Folder
9
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Legal material, undated
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Legislation
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Box
2
Folder
10
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1967
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Box
2
Folder
11
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1969
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Box
2
Folder
12
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1971
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Box
2
Folder
13
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1973
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Box
2
Folder
14
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1975
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Box
2
Folder
15
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1977
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Box
2
Folder
16
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Miscellaneous conservative literature, undated
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Box
2
Folder
17
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Planned Parenthood-Great Lakes Regional Council, 1971-1981
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Box
2
Folder
18
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Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, 1975-1979
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Box
2
Folder
19
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Planned Parenthood World Population, 1968-1982
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Box
2
Folder
20
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Pregnancy, undated
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Box
2
Folder
21
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Rape, undated
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Box
2
Folder
22
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Religious organizations, undated
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Sex education, undated
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Box
2
Folder
23
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General
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Box
2
Folder
24
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Adults
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Box
2
Folder
25
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Children and youth
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Box
2
Folder
26
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Opposition
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Box
2
Folder
27
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Support
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Box
3
Folder
1
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Teenage pregnancy, undated
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Box
3
Folder
2
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Venereal disease, undated
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Wisconsin committees
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Box
3
Folder
3
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Advisory Committee on Human Growth and Development of the State Superintendent of Schools, 1980-1982
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Box
3
Folder
4
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Advisory Committee on Family Planning of the Legislative Council, 1968-1969
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Box
3
Folder
5
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Family Planning Coordinating Council, 1977-1978
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Box
3
Folder
6
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Family Planning Information and Referral Service, Advisory Committee (Div. of Health), 1975-1976
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Box
3
Folder
7
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State Council for Home and Family, 1968-1971
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Box
3
Folder
8
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Women and Alcohol/Drugs, undated
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Box
3
Folder
9
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Women's issues, undated
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Box
3
Folder
10
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Zero Population Growth (ZPG) of Wisconsin, undated
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Box
4
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Series: Clippings, 1967-1978
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