On the artificial prevention of conception : [an argument against the promulgation of measures for preventing conception by artificial means] / by J.P. Warbasse.

  • Warbasse, James Peter, 1866-1957.
Date:
1911
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: On the artificial prevention of conception : [an argument against the promulgation of measures for preventing conception by artificial means] / by J.P. Warbasse. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    The fundamental need is the correction of the conditions, already enumerated as associated with or causative of harm in child-bearing. When these are corrected women will bear children gladly. The State should be interested in the unborn child. It is interested in the individual citizen. It regulates him and taxes him; it feeds and cares for him if tie becomes a criminal, a pauper or an idiot. It is interested in marriage. It regulates it, legalizes it, and is jealous of its perpetuation. A still greater concern is due to the newborn. Every child should be born into the arms of the State. It is the most important thing that comes into the world. We are much concerned with the immigrants who pass beneath the shadow of the Statue of Liberty (they must be free from disease, have a certain amount of money, be able and self- supporting, etc.). Should not society be more concerned for the little people who pass beneath the pubic arch? The State will do wisely to prepare for them, first by taking good care of the mother. She should be well fed and housed. The babe should be received into a decent abode where there is light and air and cleanliness and food. The mother should not be driven to un- congenial and exhaustive labor. She should be free. The child should have play and education and room to grow. These are the remedies for the harms inherent in conception. There are certain normal conditions. A husband at twenty-six and a wife at twenty-four have a child-bearing prospect of sixteen years. During that time if the wife bears one child every two years, she will have eight children. In the artificial life of the cities, with their great class of the idle rich and their parasites, on the one hand, and the exploited proletariat at the brink of starvation on the other, such conditions are impossible. But when society organizes itself upon an equitable basis the family should thrive. The enduring satisfactions of life develop about the family circle. The little house with its garden, the husband a worker and the wife a worker too, both with abundant leisure made possible by the receiving of a full compensation for their '*1 such a home preventives against conception have no place. These are the substantial things to be worked for. Malthus and the mathematicians may look into the future and predict direful things, but the future will take care of itself if men and women are happy now.