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It is this loophole which has made possible the operation of the present Fifth Avenue "clinic" by the American Birth Control League, Mrs. Sanger's organization. The clinic has been running since Jan. 1, 1923, and has advised 900 women gratis, during that period. It is in charge of Dr. Dorothy Bocker, formerly director of maternity and infant hygiene with the Georgia State Board of Health, surgeon of the U. S. Public Health Service, a graduate of Long Island College Hospital Medical College and an instructor in various universities. The experiment has been investigated by hundreds of social workers and physicians, and has proved its value, according to Mrs. Sanger. She appealed for $15,000 to extend the work to other centers at a luncheon attended by 500 prominent men and women. Cases have been referred to the clinic by many charities, hospitals, physicians, clergymen and others.
The patients were almost equally divided between Protestants, Catholics and Hebrews. Police interference has been threatened, but the legality of the clinic is not likely to be seriously challenged. The various birth control propaganda groups, however, are seeking much more .than the mere establishment of a few clinics. The Voluntary Parenthood League (Mrs. Mary Ware Dennett, Director) is making a concerted effort for the repeal of the sections of the Federal obscenity laws referring to contraceptive measures. In the short session of the last Congress a bill to accomplish this was introduced by Senator Cummins and Representative Kissel. Although many Congressmen, privately polled, approved the bill, it never reached the floor of the Houses, but died in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senator Knute Nelson, the Chairman of that Committee and a strong opponent of the measure, has since died, as has Senator Dillingham, next in seniority. Senator Brandegee (of Connecticut), the new Chairman, has not declared himself, and whether the bill can muster a majority in the Committee and be reported out is uncertain. But it is certain to be introduced by Senator Cummins and to precipitate a nation-wide debate. Politically, of course, many legislators are afraid of the bill, fearing the effect on backward constituencies. The consistent opposition of the Roman Catholic Church to the birth control movement is well known.