Birth control and the state : $b A plea and a forecastBlacker, C. P. (Charles Paton)
Philosophy
Birth control and the state : $b A plea and a forecast
Blacker, C. P. (Charles Paton)
Birth control
(2) The case of unmarried persons clearly falls into a different
category. There can be little doubt that the publicity given to the
subject of Birth Control has kindled the imagination of many young
people and led to various transgressions. The requirement here is to
discover a method by which at the same time this publicity may be
diminished and information made selectively more available. Both
these results could be achieved if the subject were taken up by the
Ministry of Health, and facilities created for the appropriate giving
of knowledge thereon by responsible qualified persons. By such means
the particular advice suited to each individual case could be privately
given, precisely where it is required, and steps might be taken to stop
the journalistic broadcasting of information and discussion which has
brought the subject into such discredit.
The effects of this measure would be comparable to the arrest of the
literature upon the subject of venereal diseases, and to the reduction
of their incidence that has been brought about by the institution of
special departments for the treatment of these diseases in the large
towns.
It is clear, however, that all arguments relating to the individual
are limited in their appeal to those in whose minds the conception
of morality is somehow related to that of individual harmony and
happiness and to the ideal of the general good. To those for whom the
word ‘morality’ has an ulterior meaning, unconnected with the affairs
of this world and relevant, solely, to the destiny of the individual
soul――I refer, here to those who enlist the ‘Will of God’ of which they
are the self-constituted interpreters, on their side――no argument can
be of any avail. Since the subject is thus removed from the sphere of
practical controversy, no further discussion is possible, and the only
thing to hope is that with the passage of time such persons will become
less numerous.
* * * * *
Consideration of the arguments bearing upon the individual, it is
submitted, points to the desirability of (1) the Ministry of Health
giving the subject recognition and sanction, and (2) limiting the
publicity that now attaches to it.
(_b_) _The Race._ Turning now from the individual to the race, we
enter on a more difficult part of the subject. Adhering to our
original conception of the question we find that the solution (if it
is to be accepted as such) of the quantitative difficulty, and of
the qualitative problem described as ‘economic’ in nature, are one
and the same. The remedy for that aspect of the qualitative problem
distinguished as ‘dysgenic’ is different and must be considered
separately.
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