Birth Control
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Halliday G. Sutherland >> Birth Control
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What moralist? Who ever said it? Again, they plead for women who "revolt"
from the "disfigurement" of the gestation period. The great artist
Botticelli did not think this was disfigurement. What true women do? Are
they not those of whom Kipling writes, "as pale and as stale as a bone"?
And, if so, are these unworthy specimens of their sex worth tears? The vast
majority of women bear the discomforts of gestation and the actual perils
and pangs of birth with exemplary fortitude: and it is a gross slander for
anyone to maintain that a few cowardly and degenerate individuals really
represent that devoted sex. But these writers are indeed well out of the
ruck of ordinary humanity, because they tell us that "whatever the means
employed, and whether righteous or not, the propensity to limit the highest
form of life operates silently and steadily amongst the more thoughtful
members of all civilized countries," and yet add that "it is not perhaps
good taste to consider the means employed to this end." While they thus
approve and commend the practice of birth control as natural to "the
more thoughtful members," they nevertheless question the "good taste" of
discussing the very methods of which they approve, even in the columns of a
medical journal! Again, they tell us that "assuredly continence is not, and
never will be, the principal" method. That may be possibly true, so long as
Christianity is more professed than practised; God knows we are all lacking
enough in self-control. And yet throughout the ages moralists have preached
the advantages of self-control, and we ordinary men and women know that we
could do better, and that others who have gone before us have done better;
but it is the self-styled "thoughtful members" who proclaim to the world
that self-control in matters of sex is an impossibility, and therefore not
to be even attempted. They are no common people--these epicureans, selfish
even in their refinement. In addition to losing their morals, they have
certainly lost their wits.
Section 5. A DEGRADATION OF THE FEMALE SEX
In the Neo-Malthusian propaganda there is yet another fact which--should
be seized by every married woman, because it is a clear indication of a
tendency to reduce women to degrading subjection. No recommendations of
limited intercourse or of self-restraint according to the dictates
of reason or of affection are to be found in the writings of birth
controllers. Unrestrained indulgence, without the risk of consequences, is
their motto. To this end they advocate certain contraceptive methods, and
the reader should note that these methods require precautions to be taken
solely by the woman. If she fails to take these precautions, or if the
precautions themselves fail, all responsibility for the occurrence of
conception rests on her alone; because her Malthusian masters have decided
that she alone is to be, made responsible for preventing the natural or
possible consequences of intercourse. Why? That is a very interesting
question, and one to which a leading Neo-Malthusian has given the answer.
In 1854 there was published, _Physical, Sexual and Natural Religion: by a
Graduate of Medicine_. In the third edition the title was altered to _The
Elements of Social Science_, and the author's pseudonym to _A Doctor of
Medicine_. This book, which contains over 600 pages of small type, may be
truthfully described as the Bible of Neo-Malthusians, and includes, under
the curious heading _Sexual Religion_, a popular account of all venereal
and other diseases of sex. In the Preface to the first edition, [74] the
anonymous author states: "Had it not been the fear of causing pain to a
relation, I should have felt it my duty to put my name to this work; in
order that any censure passed upon it should fall upon myself alone." The
relation appears to have had a long life, because anonymity was preserved
for fifty years, presumably out of respect for his, or her, feelings: and
he, or she, must have lived as long as the author, who died in 1904 at the
age of seventy-eight; because the author's name was not revealed until a
posthumous edition, the thirty-fifth, appeared in 1905, from which we learn
that the book was written by the late Dr. George Drysdale, brother of
the first President of the Malthusian League, and uncle of the present
incumbent. The last edition, in recompense for its smudgy type, contains a
most welcome announcement by the publisher:
"PUBLISHER'S NOTE.--... It is due alike to the reader and the publisher
to explain why the present edition is printed (in the main) from
stereotypes that have seen fifty years' service. The cost of resetting
the work would be prohibitive on the basis of present (and probable
future) sales. To some extent the plates have been repaired; but such
an expedient can do no more than remove the worse causes of offence."
But the fact with which I am at present concerned is that in every edition
all contraceptive methods that apply to the male are _condemned_ for the
following reasons:
"The first of these modes [_coitus interruptus_] is physically
injurious, and is apt to produce nervous disorder and sexual
enfeeblement and congestion, from the sudden interruption it gives to
the venereal act, whose _pleasure_ moreover it interferes with. The
second, namely the sheath, _dulls the enjoyment_, and frequently
produces impotence in the man and disgust in both parties; so that it
also is injurious" (p. 349).... "Any preventive means, to be
satisfactory, must be used by the woman, as _it spoils the passion and
the impulsiveness_ of the venereal act _if the man have to think of
them_" (p. 350).
The italics are mine, but the following comments are by a woman, who was
moreover the first woman to qualify in medicine--the late Dr. Elizabeth
Blackwell.
"Here, in this chief teacher of the Neo-Malthusians, the cloven foot is
fully revealed. This popular author, who in many parts of his book
denounces marriage as the enslavement of men and women, who sneers at
continence, and rages at Christianity as a vanishing superstition--all
under a special pretence of benevolence and desire for the advancement
of the human race, here clearly, shows what he is aiming at, and what
his doctrines lead to. Male sexual pleasure must not be interfered
with, male lust may be indulged in to any extent that pleasure demands,
but woman must take the entire responsibility, that male indulgence be
not disturbed by any inconvenient claims from paternity. Whatever
consequences ensue the woman is to blame, and must bear the whole
responsibility.
"A doctrine more diabolical in its theory and more destructive in its
practical consequences has never been invented. This is the doctrine of
Neo-Malthusianism." [75]
Section 6. SPECIALLY HURTFUL TO THE POOR
(a) _Affecting the Young_
There are three special and peculiar evils that attend the teaching of
birth control amongst the poor. Of the first a doctor has written as
follows:
"Morally, the doctrine is indefensible--it follows the line of least
resistance, and sacrifices the spirit to the flesh. Materially, it is
fraught with grave danger to the home and to our national existence. It
is proposed to disseminate a knowledge of contraceptive methods
throughout the overcrowded homes of the ill-fed, ill-clad poor. Now it
is in these homes that the moral sense has already but little chance of
development, where the child of eight or ten already knows far more
than is good for the health of either body or mind, and, though we may
succeed in reducing the size of the family, yet the means we employ
will militate against the raising of the moral tone of the household,
and the children will not be any less precocious than before." [76]
That danger is ignored by the advocates of birth-control. "But he that
shall scandalise one of these little ones that believe in Me, it were
better for, him that a mill-stone were hanged about his neck, and that he
were drowned in the depth, of the sea." [77]
(b) _Exposing the Poor to Experiment_
Secondly, the ordinary decent instincts of the poor are against these
practices, and indeed they have used them less than any other class. But,
owing to their poverty, lack of learning, and helplessness, the poor are
the natural victims of those who seek to make experiments on their fellows.
In the midst of a London slum a woman, who is a doctor of German philosophy
(Munich), has opened a Birth Control Clinic, where working women are
instructed in a method of contraception described by Professor McIlroy as
"the most harmful method of which I have had experience." [78] When we
remember that millions are being spent by the Ministry of Health and by
Local Authorities--on pure milk for necessitous expectant and nursing
mothers, on Maternity Clinics to guard the health of mothers before and
after childbirth, for the provision of skilled midwives, and on Infant
Welfare Centres--all for the single purpose of bringing healthy children
into our midst, it is truly amazing that this monstrous campaign of birth
control should be tolerated by the Home Secretary. Charles Bradlaugh was
condemned to jail for a less serious crime.
(c) _Tending towards the Servile State_
Thirdly, the policy of birth control opens the way to an extension of the
Servile State, [79] because women as well as men could then be placed under
conditions of economic slavery. Hitherto, the rule has been that during
child-bearing age a woman must be supported by her husband, and the general
feeling of the community has been opposed to any conditions likely to force
married women on to the industrial market. In her own home a woman works
hard, but she is working for the benefit of _her_ family and not directly
for the benefit of a stranger. If, instead of bearing children, women
practise birth control, and if children are to be denied to the poor as a
privilege of the rich, then it would be very easy to exploit the women of
the poorer classes. If women have no young children why should they be
exempt from the economic pressure that is applied to men? And indeed,
where birth control is practised women tend more and more to supplant men,
especially in ill-paid grades of work. One of the birth controllers has
suggested that young couples, who otherwise could not afford to marry,
should marry but have no children, and thus continue to work at their
respective employments during the day. As the girl would have little time
for cooking and other domestic duties, this immoralist is practically
subverting the very idea of a home! The English poor have already lost even
the meaning of the word "property," and if the birth controllers had their
way the meaning of the word "home" would soon follow. The aim of birth
control is generally masked by falsehood, but the urging of this policy
on the poor points unmistakably to the Servile State. When a nation, or
a section of a nation, is oppressed, their birth-rate rises. That is the
immutable law of nature as witnessed in history. Thus, the Israelites
increased under the oppression of the Pharaohs. Thus, the Irish, from the
Union to the Famine, multiplied prodigiously under the oppression of an
iniquitous political and land system. By the operation of this law the
oppressed grow in numbers, and break their chains.
Section 7. A MENACE TO THE NATION
(a) _There is a Limit to lowering the Death-rate_
Birth controllers believe that a high birth-rate is the cause of a high
death-rate, and that over-population is the cause of poverty. Yet, in spite
of their beliefs, they make the following statement: "Neo-Malthusians have
not aimed at reducing population, but only at reducing unnecessary death,
which injures the community without adding to its numbers." [80] In defence
of this statement they argue that if the death-rate falls people will
live longer, and therefore the population will not decrease, although the
birth-rate is lowered. There are two fallacies in their argument. They
overlook the fact that every one of us must die, and that therefore there
is a limit beyond which a death-rate cannot possibly fall, whereas there
is no limit, except zero, to the possible fall in a birth-rate. If a
birth-rate fell to nothing and no children were born, it is obvious that
the population would eventually vanish. The second fallacy is that a low
birth-rate will permanently lower the death-rate. At first a falling
birth-rate increases the proportion of young adults in the population, and,
as the death-rate during early adult life is relatively low, the total
death-rate tends to fall for a time. Sooner or later there is an increase
in the proportion of old people in the population, and, as the death-rate
during old age is high, the total death-rate tends to rise. That is now
happening in England, and these are the _actual facts_ as recorded by the
Registrar-General:
"It may be pointed out that, though the effect of the fall in the
birth-rate has hitherto been an a sense advantageous in that it has
increased the proportions living at the working ages, a tendency to the
reversal of this fact has already set in, and may be expected to
develop as time goes on....
"The general characteristics of the figures indicate very clearly the
effects of the long-continued decline in the birth-rate of this
country, and show, by the example of France, the type of
age-distribution which a further continuance of the decline is likely
to produce. The present age-distribution of the English population is
still favourable to low death-rates, but is becoming less so than it
was in 1901. The movements along the curve of the point of maximum
heaping up population, referred to on page 61 (See [Reference:
Population]), has shifted this from age 20-25 to a period ten years
later, when mortality is appreciably higher."--Census of England and
Wales, 1911. General Report, with Appendices, pp. 62 and 65.
Of these facts the birth controllers, would appear to be ignorant. That
is a charitable assumption; but, in view of the vital importance of this
question their ignorance is culpable.
(b) _Birth Control tends to extinguish the Birth-rate_
Whatever may be the nebulous aim of birth controllers, the actual results
of birth control are quite definite. We have no accurate information
regarding the extent to which, birth control is practised, for, needless to
say, the Malthusians can provide us with no exact figures bearing on this
question; but we do know that birth control, when adopted, is mostly
practised amongst the better paid artisans and wealthier classes. After
full examination of the evidence; the National Birth-rate Commission were
unanimously agreed "That the greater incidence of infant mortality upon the
less prosperous classes does not reduce their effective fertility to the
level of that of the wealthier classes." [81] It is probable that this
Commission overestimated the extent to which birth control has contributed
to the declining birth-rate; but, even so, this does not alter the obvious
fact that artificial birth control, when adopted, reduces fertility to
a lower level than Nature intended. If language has any meaning, birth
control means a falling birth-rate, and a falling birth-rate means
depopulation. Here and there this evil practice may increase the material
prosperity of an individual, but it lowers the prosperity of the nation
by reducing the number of citizens. Moreover, as birth control is not
a prevailing vice amongst semi-civilised peoples, the adoption of this
practice by civilised nations means that the proportion of civilised to
uncivilised inhabitants of the world will be reduced. If birth control had
been extensively practised in the past the colonisation of the British
Empire would have been a physical impossibility; and to-day, in our
vast overseas dominions, are great empty spaces whose untilled soil and
excellent climate await a population. Is that population to be white, or
yellow? A question which to-day fills the Australian with apprehension.
(c) _A Danger to the Empire_
Many people are honestly perplexed by Neo-Malthusian propaganda, and are
honestly ignorant of the truth concerning the population and the food
supply of the British Empire. They think that _if_ the population is
increasing faster than the food supply, there is at least one argument in
favour of artificial birth control from a practical, although possibly not
from an ethical, point of view. They apply to that propaganda the ordinary
test of the world, namely, 'Will it work?' rather than that other test
which asks, 'Is it right?' The question I would put to people who reason in
that way, and they are many, is a very simple one. If it can be proved that
Neo-Malthusian propaganda is based on an absolute falsehood, will it not
follow that the chief argument in favour of artificial birth control has
been destroyed? Let us put this matter to the proof. Neo-Malthusians state
that the population of the Empire is increasing more rapidly than the
food supply. That is a definite statement. It is either true or false.
To discover the truth, it is necessary to refer to the Memorandum of the
Dominions Royal Commission, and it may be noted that publications of that
sort are not usually read by the general public to whom the Neo-Malthusians
appeal. The public are aware that the staff of life is made from wheat, but
they are not aware of the following facts, which prove that in this matter,
at any rate, Neo-Malthusian statements are absolutely false. In foreign
countries the increase of the wheat area is proceeding at practically the
same rate as the increase of population. Within the British Empire _the
wheat area is increasing more rabidly than the population_.
Between 1901 and 1911 the percentage increase of the wheat area _was nearly
seven times greater_ than the increase of population; and the percentage
increase in the actual production of wheat _was nearly twelve times
greater_ than the increase of population. As these facts alone completely
refute the Neo-Malthusian argument, it is advisable to reproduce here the
official statistics. [82]
"The requirements of wheat [83] for the United Kingdom and the extent
to which Home and overseas supplies contributed towards these
requirements during the period under review can be briefly summarised
by the following table, viz.:
Normal Supplies Proportion of supply
Annual requirements
average Home Overseas Home Overseas
Million Million Million Per Per
cwts cwts cwts cent cent
1901-5 138.8 28.7 110.1 20.7 79.3
1906-10 143.2 31.9 111.3 22.3 77.7
1911-13 149.2 32.9 116.3 22.1 77.9
"The main sources of overseas supply are too well known to require
recapitulation here. The imports from the Dominions and India and their
proportionate contribution to the United Kingdom's total imports and
wheat requirements since 1901 have been as follows:
1901-5
Percentage
From Annual Total Total
average imports requirements
Million Per Per
cwts cent cent
Canada 10.3 9.2 7.4
Australia 6.6 5.9 4.8
New Zealand .4 .4 .3
India 15.5 13.9 11.2
32.8 29.4 23.7
1906-10
Percentage
From Annual Total Total
average imports requirements
Million Per Per
cwts cent cent
Canada 17.2 15.1 12.0
Australia 9.4 8.2 6.6
New Zealand .3 .3 .2
India 13.3 11.7 9.3
32.8 29.4 23.7
1911-13
Percentage
From Annual Total Total
average imports requirements
Million Per Per
cwts cent cent
Canada 24.5 20.5 16.4
Australia 12.6 10.6 8.4
New Zealand .4 .3 .3
India 21.5 18.0 14.4
59.0 49.4 39.5
"The large increase in the proportion received from the Dominions is,
of course, mainly due to the great extension of wheat cultivation in
Western Canada since the beginning of the century." [84]
_Future Supplies_
"As the United Kingdom is dependent for so large a proportion of its
wheat supplies on the surplus of oversea countries, it is of material
interest to examine whether this surplus is increasing, or whether the
growth of population is proceeding more rapidly than the extension of
the wheat-growing area.
"The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries in 1912 estimated [85] that the
extension of the wheat area and the growth of population during the
period 1901-1911 was as follows:
Wheat area Percent Population. Percent
Wheat-growing age in age in
countries. 1901. 1911. crease 1901. 1911. crease
British Empire Thousand Thousand Thousands Thousands
(United Kingdom, acres. acres.
Canada,
Australia,
New Zealand,
and India). 34,696 50,490 +45.5 283,385 302,154 + 6.6
European
countries. 98,326 115,105 +17.1 291,685 337,181 +15.6
Others 67,908 81,408 +19.9 139,927 168,818 +20.6
"_It is important to find that, while in foreign countries, both
European and extra-European, the increase of wheat area is proceeding
at practically the same rate as the increase of population, in the
British Empire the wheat area is developing far more rapidly, so that
the Empire as a whole is becoming more self-supporting.
"The total production of wheat within the British Empire, which was
227,500,000 cwts. in 1901, had risen to 399,700,000 cwts. in 1911, an
increase of 75 per cent_.
"The relative yield per acre in 1911 was as follows:"
Yield per acre.
Average for five
years, 1906-10. 1911.
Bushels. Bushels.
United Kingdom 32.88 32.96
Canada 17.56[86] 20.80[87]
Australia 11.74 9.65[88]
New Zealand 28.72 36.73
India
(including Native States) 11.44 12.02
The foregoing facts destroy the chief Neo-Malthusian argument, and, as
birth control tends to extinguish the birth-rate, this Neo-Malthusian
propaganda is a menace to the Empire. In fact, the danger is very great for
the simple reason that the proportion of white people within the Empire is
very small.
"The British Empire's share of the world's people is very large, but it
mainly consists, it should be remembered, of Asiatics and African
natives. The Empire as a whole contains about 450 millions of the
world's 1,800 millions, made up roundly as follows:
United Kingdom 47,000,000
Self-governing Dominions 22,000,000
Rest of the Empire (chiefly India,
319 millions) 378,000,000
Total 447,000,000
"Of the great aggregate Empire population of 447 millions, the white
people account for no more than 65 millions. That is to say, outside
the United Kingdom itself the Empire has only 18 million white people,
or less than four million families. That figure, of course, includes
Boers, French-Canadians, and others of foreign extraction. This fact is
clearly not realized by those present-day Malthusians who assure us
that too many Britons are being born." [89]
It is also well to remember that depopulation in Italy preceded the
disintegration of the Roman Empire. Historians have estimated that, while
under the Republic, Italy could raise an army of 800,000 men, under Titus
that number was halved.
Unfortunately there are some to whom this argument will not appeal, and
wandering about in our midst are a few lost souls, so bemused by the
doctrines of international finance that they see no virtue in patriotism
or, in other words, in the love that a man has for his own home. They are
unmoved by the story of sacrifice, of thrift, and of patient trust in
God that is told for instance in the history of the Protestant manses of
Scotland, where ministers on slender stipends brought up families of ten
and twelve, where the boys won scholarships at the universities, and where
women were the mothers of men.
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