Birth Control and the State: A Plea and A Forecast

Since the War, the subject of Birth Control has been widely discussed, and much has been written about it. By some of its advocates it has been extolled to the point where any criticism, however tentative, is resentfully repudiated. By its enemies it has been represented as a pernicious and unnatural practice leading to the degeneracy and, ultimately, to the extinction of the race. So wholeheartedly felt, and yet so profoundly opposed are these views, that it has been difficult for the average person to find his bearings on any other basis than that of his own sentiment.

It is clear that the implications of Birth Control, or, rather, what is generally, though not logically understood by the term, of the practice of contraception, are far reaching. It profoundly affects the life of the individual; it reacts upon the internal economy of the community; and it has a most important bearing upon the international future of the country wherein it is practised. It is therefore incumbent upon all serious students of contemporary world-problems to realize clearly what is to be said on both sides, and to form thereon, as far as lies in their power, an unbiassed opinion. This obligation weighs especially heavily on medical men since, if the practice is to be tolerated at all, it is by them that it should be administered and controlled.

It is a general survey of this sort that is attempted here. The book will begin with a consideration of the more important arguments that have been advanced on each side. These will then be discussed, and there will follow a conclusion as to the bearing of the practice upon the future of civilization.

It will be convenient first to review the more serious arguments used against Birth Control, the problem being considered throughout both as a world-problem and as one with a special significance for this country. They fall into two distinct categories concerning (A) the Race and (B) the Individual.

A. 1. The ‘military’ argument finds exponents among Nationalists, who are convinced that the essential merit of a country lies in its powers of offence and defence, or who are persuaded that future wars are, by the constitution of human nature, inevitable, and that it is therefore necessary for the country to which they belong to be fully equipped. By such persons, Birth Control is opposed in so far as it would impair their country’s man power.