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introductory passages from wise parenthood - mary carmichael stopes lyrics

“author’s note”
from: wise parenthood: a sequel to ” married love ”

marie carmichael stopes

fourth edition

“dedicated to all who wish to see our race grow in strength and beauty”

first published november, 1918
second edition january, 1919
third edition march 1919
fourth edition april, 1919

so many people have written to me after reading my book — married love,” asking for more detail abbut the end of my chapter on “children,” that it became impossible to answer each one personally. as not only these individual inquirers, but the world at large, and even the medical profession, lack a rational, scientific, and critical consideration of the details concerning birth control methods now used by millions of people, this little book seemed urgently needed. i sincerely trust that it will help materially to improve our race and to check the spread of nervous and other injuries so prevalent as a result of ignorant attempts to obtain that wise and health-giving control of parenthood which all who think must crave. i should like to take this opportunity of urging young couples who truly love to have all the children to whom they can give health and beauty, even if by so doing they sacrifice their personal luxuries

marie carmichabl stopes
october, 1918

chapter i

a family of healthy happy children should be the joy of every pair of married lovers. if, however, the course of “nature” is allowed to run unguided babies come in general too quickly for the parents resources, and the parents as well as the children consequently suffer. wise parents therefore guide nature, and control the birth of the desired children so as to sp-ce them in the way best adjusted to what health, wealth, and happiness they have to give. the object of this book is to tell prospective parents how best to do this, and to hand on to them what little help science can give humanity on this vital subject

this is not an attempt to present complete arguments to show the racial and national necessity for birth control: that has been done by
others.recently valuable expositions of the supreme importance to humanity of a wise use of birth control have been made from many different points of view and by various distinguished people. doubtless much more remains to be said, for there are many who are still ignorant and consequently prejudiced against the greatest of the steps humanity can take next in its evolution; but this is not the place to deal with the wide aspect of the subject

that almost every intelligent and thoughtful married pair is practising at the present moment some method or other of birth control is beyond dispute.(…)

i will give a quotation from one of our most ardent social reformers. the rev. j. marchant, secretary of the birth rate commission and secretary of the national council of public morals, in his recent book, birth rate and empire, says as follows (pp. 144.146):
if, then, the volitional control of births within the married state has become a normal proceeding, if it is fast losing its apparent indelicacy, if it is spoken about without raising vicious p-ssions, if it is becoming the “correct thing” to do … we must give up the futile attempt to keep young people in the dark and the -ssumption that they are ignorant of notorious facts. we cannot, if we would, stop the spread of s-xual knowledge; and, if we could do so, we should only make matters infinitely worse. this is the second decade of the twentieth century, not the early victorian period

chapter ii
(…) i sincerely hope that those who propose to read this little book will first read my married love because the whole complex experience of
married life is so interwoven with the s-x act and consequent children that it is almost impossible to isolate the one thing, nan^ely, the controlling of births, and discuss that by itself without distorting its relation to the whole of life and appearing to lay stress on the minor details rather than on the greater themes. my object is not to make s-x experience danger-free indulgence, but in the interests both of the pair and of society to spread what little light science has already thrown upon the subject, so that each pair may not only themselves be healthy and happy, but may bring forth children for the empire who have the best chance which that pair can give them of health and beauty and happiness. from a variety of causes our race is weakened by an appallingly high percentage of unfit weaklings and diseased individuals. the work of the empire is hindered and its existence jeopardised if our people are so hampered

- mary carmichael stopes lyrics

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