BIRTH CONTROL REVIEW

1 BIRTH CONTROL REVIEW VOL I. NO 4 Published bv the Amencan Btrth CONTROL Leaaue TANUARY 1934 The American BIRTH CONTROL League znvztes you to attend rts Thrrteenth Annual Meetmg, January 18 and 19, 1934, New York THURSDAY, JANUARY 18-PARK LANE HOTEL 299 PARK AVENUE AT 48th ST 10 30 Annual Meetmg 2 30 State League Reports MRS F ROBERTSON JONES, presrdrng MRS GEORGE A DUNNING, secretary Busmess Meet~ntr Pennsylvanta Brrfh Confrol Federaften presrdrng - Nat~onal Reports Plans for 1934 D~scuss~on Pract~cal Measures for Promotmg B~rth Release D~scuss~on Br~ne~ne Blrth CONTROL to Women ~n Rural 7 30 D~nner Meetmg, Park Lane Hotel, 299 Park Avenue BUILDING THE WORLD OF TOMORROW Lay~ng the Foundat~on-B~rth CONTROL and Publ~c Health DR C E A WINSLOW, Professor of Publtc Health Yale Medzcal School Rats~ng the Structure-Blrth CONTROL and the Race DR HARRY A OVERSTREET, Profesmr of Pbrlosophy and Psychology College of the Crfy of New York Insurmg Its Permanence-B~rth CONTROL and World Peace DR WARREN S THOMPSON Drrector Scrrpps Foundatton for Rerrarch tn Populatron Probl~ms, Mtamt Unroersrfy FRIDAY, JANUARY 19-Y W C A 600 LEXINGTON AVENUE.

2 AT 53rd STREET 10 00 Fmanc~na Nat~onal and State Organ~zatlons 11 30 The Blrth CONTROL Cl~n~c and the Soc~al - - MRS JOHN DEW^ PELTZ presrdrng JEAN PINN~Y Amertcan Socral Hygrane Asso M Lou~sa GRIFFITH Nafronal League of Women Toters Worker CAROL K NASH, Fteld Secretary N Y C Com mtttee. presidsnn DR SOPHIA J KLEEGMAN Aas~sfant Cltntcal Professor of Gynrcology N Y U and Belle vue Hosprfal Medrcal School 12 30 Luncheon Meet~ng H~ghl~ghts of the Washmgton Conference DR HANNAH M STONE Medtcal Dtrector Brrih CONTROL Clrnrcal Research Bureau DR ERIC M MATSNER, Medfcal D~rector, Amertcan Btrth CONTROL League The publrc IS rnvrted Trckets for the dinner meetrng on January 18 and the luncheon meetrng on January 19 are avatlable at the office of the League Ktndly use order blank on back cover of the REVIEW FOR THE NEW YEAR HAVE been asked by the Ed~tor what, In my I opmlon.

3 Are the most v~tal and most urgent tasks before the blrth CONTROL movement, and offer the fol low~ng l~stmg as an Ideal program for 1934 1 Funds for research to find more generally ac ceptable methods and part~cularlv those slmple enough for women beyond the reach of clln~cs and Instructors, as In the backwoods of Amer~ca, or In Chma and Ind~a Cont~nuat~on of such stud~es as that of Cecd I B Vorre - 2 Tests of expermental measures glvmg protection for months at a tune 3 More clln~cs uslng present methods, preferablv In establshed hospital out patlent departmentc, where th~s IS not poss~ble, as speclal extra mural organtza 4 More phys~c~ans tramed In present methods very few medical schools now omlttmg ~t 6 Development of blrth CONTROL cl~n~cs Into general marrlage adv~ce centers, wlth pre-manta1 exammatlon, early d~agnos~s of ~s~ch~c and phyalcal maladjustment, and early d~agnos~s of sterll~ty 7 Changes In Federal and state laws, In order that all phys~c~ans may obtarn books and mater~als by mall or common carrler wlthout bemg law-breakers, as IS now the case under the Federal law and that of some states 8 Inqu~ry and actlon by state med~cal socletles.

4 Fol- lowmg the str~kmg example of the M~ch~gan State Med~cal Soclety 9 Extens~on to all reglons of the pr~v~leges and safeguards of ster~lwatlon (wthout unsex~ng) now In use In twenty seven states, (thls extension to apply to neople outs~de of ~nst~tut~ons) to prevent propagation by the feeblem~nded and Insane 10 More use of vasectomy as the one completely sat~sfactory and slmple method of preventing concep tlon In cases where the man should not have ch~ldren, or the couple has had all they w~ll ever be able to rear One of the best smgle moves to Insure these results would be an effectwe coord~nat~on of all agencles In terested and actlve In the blrth CONTROL movement Through such coordmat~on concentration on mam ob jectlves and neglected areas would be ach~eved ROBERT L DICKINSON M D Honorary Secretmy to the Natzonal B IRTH CONTROL IS the determmat~on of rat~onal and ~ntell~gent people to gu~de and even CONTROL human hfe at ~ts source w~th the same sanlty and reason that IS exerc~sed toward l~fe In bemg and even at ~ts close It IS the first defin~te expression of planned heredlty wh~ch must ultimately.

5 (and no one dare pre- dlct how sw~ftly) brmg vast benefits to that natlon or race wh~ch dehberatel~ enters upon the slmple project of encouraging the blrth of des~rable human be~ngs and d~scourag~ng the b~rth of the undes~rable The obstacles and object~ons that Ile In the path of th~s movement need concern no one very greatly NO lnstltutlon or personal prejud~ce IS capable ult~mately of w~thhold~ng blewngs or benefits from an ever In creaslngly ~ntell~~ent world B~rth CONTROL , removed from the unworthv and baseless fears of ~mmoral~ty and equally from the superst~t~ons of an affronted De~ty, wdl not long be shackled These hmdrances once re moved.

6 ~t mav rap~dly bring Into bemg a day of human sat~sfact~on, health and happmess of wh~ch the race has not yet dreamed B~rth CONTROL IS by no means merely a latent b~o- log~cal or phys~olog~cal benefact~on It may well serve, In the Western world, to l~ft the whole questlon of sex to a level of normal beauty and good Here the reltg~ous forces of the Western world must stand accountable Sex from the day of St Augustme, poss~bly even St Paul, has been treated as a thmg ugly In Itself and wrong In ~ts Intent As~de from ~ts blolog~cal Import and s~g nlficance, and from whatever ~t may do In lmprovlng the race, b~rth CONTROL may also brmg a blessmg no whlt less s~~n~ficant, In sanct~f~~ng, In ennobltng the ex perlence of sex We have too long accepted such expressions as "th~s vde body," and "the weakness of the flesh " W~th all other revolut~ons and evolutions In human thought and endeavor, b~rth CONTROL may brmg an att~tude of seren- ~ty, holmess and joy to the fundamental and unalterable fact of sex In human l~fe WILLIAM T HOOPER D D Prestdent Connectrcut Brrth CONTROL League Rector St John s Church Hartford I F IT IS neLessary, and hence leg~t~mate, for the gov ernment to CONTROL product~on and d~str~but~on, In- come and wages.

7 Why IS ~t not equally necessary for lt to CONTROL the number of the beneficlanes of all this? In other words, why IS not blrth CONTROL as necessary to the welfare of the state as any of these others? Commzttee on Maternal Health Inc THEODORE DREISER AMERICAN CONFERENCE ON BIRTH con trol AND NATIONAL RECOVERY A DISTINGUISHED group of leaders from all parts of the nation will assemble at the three day conference on Bzrth CONTROL and Natzonal Recover) to be held at The Mayflower Hotel, Washmgton, D C , on January 15, 16 and 17, 1934, under the ausplces of the Nat~onal Comm~ttee on Federal Leg~slat~on Mrs Margaret Sanger is president The mam objectwe of th~s Conference is to d~rect the attentlon of Congress and the Admlnlstrat~on to the fact that the Nat~onal Recovery Program can be v~tally a~ded rf famhes now hvmg on chanty are glven a chance to obtam the knowledge and benice needed for the llm~tat~on of blrths Particular attentlon IS called to the Round Table session on the establishment and admlnlstrat~on of Blrth CONTROL Cllnics under prlvate or publ~c med~cal ausplces and In publ~c mtltutlons All those Interested In cllmcs should attend.

8 For there will be full dlscuss~on of many of the problems that confront every clln~cal worker Three v~tal phases of the b~rth CONTROL movement w~ll he discussed Monday Afternoon NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL POPULATIPN PROB L~MS Speakerr Dr Warren S Thompson, Dr W~lliam F Ogburn, Dr J J Spengler and others D r,rPIocs, E-IIICAL P\D MORAL ASPECTS Spe4kers &shop Frdricia J bicconnell, Rabbi Stephen Wlae, and I, '~trs 1 uerdav The entlre day w~ll be glven over to nied~cal sesslons The afternoon ndl be glven over to Round Tdble d~scuss~on of clmc problems The evenlng dlnner will be the concludmg sesslon Dr Ira S Wde will act as toastmaster Among the speakers are Professor William McDougall, Dr T W~ngate Todd, iMrs Charlotte Perklns Gllman, Mrs Thomaa N Hepburn and Margaret Sanger Altogether the occaslon promlses to be an insplrlng, ~nformat~ve, and h~stor~cally s~gn~ficant event.

9 Sponsored h~ a d~st~ngu~shed group of over five hundred leaden or publ~c opmon In Amer~ca E\n THE ERA OF COAISTOCK T HE American Conference on Blrth CONTROL and Nat~onal Recoverv to he held at Washington should be of great servlce In facllltatmg the passage of the proposed bill to amend the Federal law, prohib~ting the sendmg and lmportlng of contraceptne mformation and ~uppl~es by mad or common carrler The success of th~s bill w~ll be of tremendous value, mod~fy~ng and modernizmg Sect~on 211 of the Penal Laws dealmg w~th obscemty and the postal lans The amend ment of the old Comstock~an obsce,i~ty law will be a slgnificant trlumph for national common sense, and wdl advance the development of b~i rh CONTROL servlce beyond ~ts present confines It 1s Important, however, to realla that the federal llw applies only to the ~mportlng and sendmg by mail or common carrier contraceptive information and supplies and does not proh~b~t the oral p~rmg of contraceptive adv~ce ?

10 He bruted States ahead) has 144 Centers for contrdceptlve adv~ce, all of wh~ch are outgrowths of the BIRTH CONTROL Cllnic first establ~shed under the ausplces of Mrs Sanger These Mothers' Health Centers and Clinics for contraceptwe adv~ce are now legallj glving mformat~on to at lewt 50,000 women annuallv The twelve Centers located In Nen York Settlem~nt Houses alone g xe informa tlon during 1933 to approuirnatel) 7000 nevr pdtlents Great progreas ha. already been mddc In carrying out a rdt~onal prog~am to make rel~ablr blrth CONTROL mfor matlon access~ble to those mathers whose health requlres ~t Laws, hke people, ch-nge.