[5] She owned and operated a bookstore called the Egoist Book Shop, with her husband Gordon Ferguson[4] at the corner of O'Connor and Laurier, in Ottawa, Ontario.
[6] Her participation in the PIB aligned with work she had previously undertaken in Britain where she came up with the slogan "If you can't change your tactics, at least use prophylactics," targeted at English soldiers going off to war.
[10][11] On September 14, 1936 at the age of 28, Palmer was arrested and charged under section 207(c) of the Criminal Code, which stated that the selling or advertising of contraceptives was illegal.
Those interested in gaining access to the material for their own use would sign a form and later be sent a birth control kit that consisted of spermicides, condoms, and information about purchasing additional items like diaphragms.
[7][15] He spent $25,000 mounting a defense for Palmer, a considerable sum at the time, in what would later be known as The Eastview Birth Control Trial which took place from 1936 to 1937.
[14] Drawing international attention, the landmark case gained Palmer the moniker "the Marie Stopes of Canada" a nod to the woman who co-founded the first birth control clinic in Britain.
[18][19] Palmer spoke publicly about the position she was placed in by men involved with the birth control movement and the trial expressing that she had done the "dirty work" on their behalf.
[5][11] Palmer was honoured along with A. R. Kaufman, Elizabeth Bagshaw, Lise Fortier, George C. and Barbara Cadbury, by Ortho Pharmaceutical Ltd. in 1973 for their roles in advancing family planning in Canada.
The episode script was drafted by Frank Jones, using trial transcripts and related papers held by the University of Waterloo Library, and featured Canadian actress Nicky Guadagni as Palmer.