The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-01-20
Friends of
Birth Curb
Get Hearing
x Jcdous R SHeen-
House Committee Gives
Ear to Group of
300 Doctors.
BY GRETTA PALMER
TImea Special Writer

Mltu Oh NAAC lAlAlAoAg
mittee Of the house Of representa-
tives may have the facts Of life well
in hand, but they learned a thing or
two about how those facts work out
under the laws Of the United States
when a committee Of 300 physicians
came before them this week ana
pleaded for a revision of our reg
ulations Of birth control informa-
ton.
The committee, headed by Mrs.
Thomas N. Hepburn, mother of the
star Of The Lake" pointed out
that physicians in forty-seven states
are permitted TO give birth control
information, orally or in writing, so
long as they do not send it by mail
or express.
But this information is presu-
mably of no use TO their patients in
forty-five states. since no one-not
even a physician-can import the
necessary supplies. And the only
two cities in which such articles are
manufactured are New York and
Chicago.
Now. one might logically conclude
that the residents of those lucky
cities would show a far lower birth
rate than women in Dallas or Den
yer, who may know exactly how to
limit their offspring but must go on
bearing unwanted children with dis
tressing punctuality because they
can not obtain the devices. That is
the theory Of the government, and
with fifteen years of prohibition be-
hind you hope you can pick the
fallacy.
Doctors Evade Law
What actually happens. of course,
is that some doctors-many of them
very nice doctors, too-import the
contraband articles and thumb
their noses at a federal law which
they consider a piece of cruel nom
sense. These they hand out to
their private patients-but they can
hardly carry on the same policy of
quiet defiance in the large hospital
clinics.
So the poor woman, although she
may have a knowledge of contra
ceptives which would put Havelock
Ellis to shame, is helpless unless she
finds druggist willing to break the
law.
Such facts are being brought out
here in the convention now being
held by an organization which
struggles under the unwieldly name
of the National Committee on Fed
eral Legislation for Birth Control,
Inc. With Margaret Sanger, its
president, in charge, it has been
conducting a symposium on the var
ious methods of birth control and
their comparative values. Since the
speeches we're not sent either by
mail or express. this Is perfectly
okay with the government.
And it becomes increasingly evil
dent as the convention goes on that
the medicos have a long way to go
before they achieve unanimity of
opinion on the best way of having
a planned family.
The delegates concur in the belief
that it is desirable for a woman to
wait two summers after the birth
of one child before becoming preg-
nant again-yes. The summer sun,
it seems, is needed to repair the
tn9lOlu EAoAAQos
Disagree on Methods
They agree that there are some
women whose physical condition is
such that they should never become
motherS-yes. But as to the best
means of attaining these ends they
do not agree at all.
There are sponsors of vaccination,
sponsors of various mechanical de-
vices, sponsors of the annual in
sertion of instruments more per-
manently effective. There is even
one sponsor of the belief that dur
ing certain weeks a woman is Sc
cure-although, to be sure, his con-
illusions we're Immediately chal-
lenged by half the gathering.
These are questions of enormous
moment TO the woman who wishes
to preserve her own health and TO
bring children into the world at the
time most opportune for them.
They are questions which We can
not blame the doctors for having
failed TO settle while the whole
problem of the legality OF any
method is in so unsettled a state.
The poor dearS have little chance
to gather statistics or to experiment
with new inventions while they are
legally regarded as criminals for
giving a woman the means of pre-
venting a birth for which she is
neither physically nor economically
prepared.
Yet who has a better right than
woman to decide whether she shall
become a mother or not? And for
what reason does the state deny
her the scientific information which
would seal her right to voluntary
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