Wright, Helena (1887–1982)
Wright, Helena (1887–1982)
English medical practitioner, early advocate of family planning in England, China, and India, and author . Name variations: Helena Rosa Lowenfeld. Born Helena Rosa Lowenfeld on September 17, 1887, in Brixton, London, England; died on March 21, 1982; daughter of Heinz Lowenfeld; educated at the Cheltenham Ladies' College and the London School of Medicine for Women; married Henry Wardel Snarey Wright (a surgeon).
Worked as a medical missionary, medical officer of a woman's health-care clinic, and as a gynecologist in private practice; published seven books, including The Sex Factor in Marriage (1930) and Sex and Society (1968); advocated improvement and reform of women's health care.
Helena Wright was born Helena Rosa Lowenfeld in London, England, in 1887, where she studied at Cheltenham Ladies' College and the London School of Medicine for Women. She became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, England, and a Licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons, London, in 1914, going on to earn an M.B. and B.S. in 1915. Afterwards she married surgeon Henry Wardel Wright of the Royal Army Medical College. The two traveled to Shantung Christian University, in Tsinan, China, where they worked as medical missionaries from 1919 to 1927. Helena Wright was an associate gynecologist at the university.
Returning to England thereafter, Wright became involved in the movement for birth control. She worked as a medical officer for the North Kensington Women's Welfare Centre and then in private practice as a gynecologist until 1975; she also helped set up the International Committee on Planned Parenthood (later known as the International Planned Parenthood Federation). Wright upheld women's rights to free choice and was prepared to recommend abortion for unplanned pregnancies. As well, she actively worked as an advocate for prisoners and had a great deal of success as a writer, authoring seven books, including The Sex Factor in Marriage (1930), which sold over one million copies. Sex and Society (1968) initiated public awareness regarding the effects of voluntary fertility on society. Serving as a family planning consultant to several underdeveloped countries, Wright traveled to India at age 88 to continue this work. She died on March 21, 1982, at age 94.