Doubt as to the certainty of contraceptives arises from two sources.
One is the uninformed element in the medical profession. A physician
who belongs to this element may object to birth control upon general
grounds, or he may repeat old-fashioned objections to cover his
ignorance of contraceptives. For, strange as it may seem, there is an
amazing ignorance among physicians of this supremely important
subject. The uninformed objector often assumes to speak with the voice
of authority, asserting that there are no thoroughly dependable
contraceptives that are not injurious to the user.
The other source of distrust is the experience of the woman herself.
Having no place to go for scientific advice, she gathers her
information from neighbors and friends. One offers this suggestion,
another offers that, each urging the means that she has found
successful and condemning others. All this is very confusing and
extremely disturbing to the woman who, for one reason or another, is
living in constant fear of pregnancy.
It is not at all surprising that such a state of affairs exists. There
has been so much secrecy about the whole subject and so much
dependence upon amateurish and nonprofessional advice that it is
almost impossible for anyone to procure reliable information or to
recognize it when given. This is especially true in the United States
where there are both federal and state laws to punish those who
disseminate knowledge of birth-control methods.
Even under present conditions, however, there is a certain amount of
reliable information concerning methods of birth control. We know that
there are several methods of prevention which are not only dependable,
but which can be used without injury either to the man or the woman.
Knowledge of what these methods are and how to apply them should be
available to every married man and woman. It is safe to predict that
in a very few years they will be available.
Some methods are more dependable than others, just as there are some
more simple of adjustment than others. Some are cheap and less
durable; others are expensive and last for years. There are some which
for a quarter of a century have stood the test of certainty in
Holland, France, England and the United States among the wealthier
classes, as the falling birth rate among these classes indicates. And
just as the reliable, primitive wheelbarrow is antiquated beside the
latest airplane, so, as scientific investigators turn their attention
more and more to this field, will the awkward, troublesome methods of
the past give way to the simpler, more convenient methods of the
morrow.
Although the law forbids information concerning reliable means of
contraception, it is hardly likely that it can be invoked to prevent
warnings against widely practiced methods which are NOT reliable. The
employment of such methods leads not only to disappointment but often
to ill health.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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