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Arguments Pro. The argument of the birth control propagandists is essentially as follows: The present law is unevenly enforced. The well- todo, educated part of the population, especially the professional groups, many of whom oppose any relaxation of the present restrictions, generally have access to such knowledge and are obviously limiting the number of their children. The birthrate of the United States, now about 22 per thousand population, as well as of all the more advanced countries, has declined steadily in the past half century since the agitation for birth control (starting in England with Robert Owen, Francis Place and the famous Bradlaugh-Besant trial) became widespread. It is well known that many physicians give information to their private patients. But the lower classes, economically and mentally, have been shut off from such sources. It is these classes, including the majority of immigrants, which have the largest families and contribute the largest share of paupers, defectives and diseased per- sons. Birth control information, if available to them, would improve the quality of the race by cutting off at its source the multiplication of the unfit or the unfortunate. Public clinics in the Netherlands and other countries, operating without Government opposition, have apparently had beneficial effect. Most advocates of birth control do not wish to remove all restrictions, but simply to make it legal for properly qualified persons, as physicians, public health officers or nurses, to give information to all married persons who desire it.
Medically, contraceptive methods are far from perfect. There is no known infallible means except complete abstinence from sex relations. But considerable research has been done which would be stimulated if the illegal aspect were removed. Improved methods may be looked for, and some commonly used, which are injurious to health, could be reduced. Likewise, abortions, estimated (though of course no reliable statistics are possible) at from 500,000 to 2,000,000 yearly in the U. S. would be reduced if preventive methods were more freely available.
Apart from the considerations of health and income, however, there is a growing demand among women for birth control to enable them to space the number of children they desire at such intervals as will make life more livable and make possible better care of the fewer children. An exhaustive scientific study of the sex life of 1,000 normal and well- educated married women, made by Dr. Katharine B. Davis, of the Bureau of Social Hygiene, revealed the fact that 74% used contraceptive methods themselves and gave their approval to them. Economic and health reasons, and desire for a satisfactory married life were about equally important as motives. The women who used contraceptives had an average of 1.93 children, while those who did not use them had 1.31.
Birth control propagandists are in the habit of imputing interested motives to their opponents, as that doctors fear loss of obstetrical patronage, clergymen want a plentiful supply of church members from the "lower classes," military men want "cannon fodder," politicians want voters, captains of industry want cheap labor, etc. "Foxes think large families among the rabbits highly commendable," writes Thomas Nixon Carver, Professor of Political Economy at Harvard.