Conception Control and Its Effects on the Individual and the Nation

Conception Control and Its
Effects on the Individual and the
Nation

The Project Gutenberg eBook, Conception Control and Its Effects on
the
Individual and the Nation, by Florence E. Barrett, et al
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: Conception Control and Its Effects on the Individual and the
Nation
Author: Florence E. Barrett
Release Date: October 31, 2004 [eBook #13906]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK
CONCEPTION CONTROL AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE
INDIVIDUAL AND THE NATION***
E-text prepared by Michael Ciesielski, Jeannie Howse, and the Project
Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team

CONCEPTION CONTROL AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE
INDIVIDUAL AND THE NATION
by
FLORENCE E. BARRETT, C.B.E., M.D., M.S., B.Sc.
Consulting Obstetric and Gynæcological Surgeon to the Royal Free

Hospital. President of the Federation of Medical Women.
With a Foreword by His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury.
1922

PREFACE
This small book has been written in response to many requests for
some statement regarding the individual and national effects of the
widespread practice of conception control.
It is not intended to give medical advice on the subject for, in my
judgment, that is best given to the individual by his or her medical
adviser, and will vary in different circumstances.
The question as to whether control of conception shall or shall not be
practised is a decision ethical and not medical in character when
husband and wife are healthy, and in the last resort will be decided by
the individual pair for themselves; but they will be wise to discuss the
question with their medical attendant in order to realise all that is
involved in their decision.
Space forbids anything like a full discussion of the national issues, but
that aspect of the subject demands quite as careful study as personal
needs or desires.
F.E.B.
31, DEVONSHIRE PLACE, W.1. September, 1922.

FOREWORD
The Archbishop of Canterbury allows me to use the following letter as
a Foreword to this little book.
DEAR LADY BARRETT,
I have read with great interest the manuscript of your pamphlet. Very
many of us who have daily to do with the problems and perplexities of
our social life and to give counsel to the anxious or the penitent or the
perturbed will thank you for these clear and cogent chapters. To
arguments based on moral and religious principle you add the weight of
ripe experience and of technical scientific knowledge. Your words will
gain access to the commonsense of many who would perhaps regard
the opinions of clergy as likely to be prejudiced or uninformed. I am of
course not qualified to express an independent judgment upon the

medical or physiological aspects of this delicate problem, but I desire
on moral and religious as well as on social and national grounds to
support your general conclusions, and to express the hope that your
paper may have wide circulation among those who are giving attention
to what is becoming an urgent question in thousands of English homes.
I am, Yours very truly, RANDALL CANTUAR.
LAMBETH PALACE, S.E. 3rd August, 1922.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM OF TO-DAY

CHAPTER II
THE DEMAND FOR KNOWLEDGE AND FROM WHOM TO
OBTAIN IT

CHAPTER III
METHODS

CHAPTER IV
THE EFFECT OF WIDESPREAD CONCEPTION CONTROL ON
NATIONAL EFFICIENCY
SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS

CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM OF TO-DAY
In the late seventies of last century a pamphlet entitled The Fruits of
Philosophy was republished by Mrs. Annie Besant and Mr. Charles
Bradlaugh, in their desire to mitigate the suffering of poor women who

were overburdened by work and further weakened by frequent
child-bearing. They resolved to face public obloquy and even legal
prosecution in order to bring to these women knowledge of how to
prevent conception, which, in their opinion, would give the relief they
so sorely needed. As is well known, the later pamphlet on the same
subject written by themselves was withdrawn from publication by Mrs.
Besant in 1886 on religious grounds.
During the last few years the idea of the need for conception control
has again become prominent, partly as a revolt against the bondage of
women in child-bearing, partly accentuated by the difficulties and
uncertainties of an adequate livelihood, and the desire to have a few
children well educated and cared for rather than many who shift more
or less for themselves.
But also the claim is made that marriage exists at least as much for the
fulfilment of happiness in union with the beloved as for the procreation
of children; and that it should