Bessie Moses

Who was Bessie Moses?

Bessie Louise Moses, M.D. was a U.S. gynecologist and obstetrician who advocated birth control practices for women.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Moses graduated Goucher College in 1915 and began her public career after graduating from Johns Hopkins Medical School in 1922. She began private practice as an obstetrician, but this path proved ill-suited when she became emotionally attached to the outcome of every birth she attended, so she instead chose to pursue gynecology. It was at this juncture of her career that Moses found her niche and her calling as Director of the Baltimore Bureau for Contraceptive Advice, which became the Baltimore Birth Control Clinic.

The Baltimore Bureau for Contraceptive Advice was incorporated in 1926, opened its doors to patients in 1927, and operated until 1932. The Bureau originally was set up as a public health research venture with strict rules about referral of patients for its services. In order to avoid controversy and prosecution, the women who were referred to the clinic for participation in the study had to be married and their health in such a deteriorated state that further pregnancies could prove fatal.