Report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Various Aspects of the Problem of Abortion in NewZealand Part 3

The point of view of what we believe to be a very large body of women is ill.u.s.trated by the following evidence, which is but one of many similar expressions of opinion heard by the Committee. This witness, speaking on behalf of a group with incomes of 300 to 400 per annum, stated:--

"On present incomes, not more than two or three children at the outside can be given educational and economic opportunities. It may be said that it is quite possible to mitigate to a quite tolerable degree the strain put upon the parents by the provision of (1) adequate wages for husbands, and (2) a system of domestic help for wives. With regard to (1) it is not probable within our lifetime that everybody will be guaranteed an income adequate to the needs of a family of, say, three children--'needs' as viewed by educated parents. The most sympathetic administration would have its hands full for many a year coping with the problem of helping those thousands of our people who have been just on or very near the bread-line. Those worst off hitherto need help first. A man earning between three and four hundred a year should not claim Government help to breed children, when there are such numbers of people living on a much lower wage. But it must be perfectly clear to each member of the Commission who figures the matter out that a salary of less than 400 will not enable more than two children to be given such chance of development as every parent reasonably desires. It is pertinent to ask here what is the average number of children in the families of the British middle cla.s.s--which is mainly the stratum from which our legislators, rulers, and magistrates have been drawn. Do such people breed freely?

Self-respecting parents prefer to do without such Government help as family allowances; but knowing the cost of training a child they claim the rights first, to decide how many children they will breed, and, secondly, to live themselves normally satisfied married lives. Few women, moreover, of average intelligence are to-day content to be breeding-machines, and their husbands support them in that att.i.tude. With regard to domestic help, even were this, or nursing schools, or both, provided by the State, the responsibility for her children's well-being would be still all-absorbing, at least during the first four years of each one's growth. Students of child psychology are insistent that the pre-school period is the most important in the life of the individual and requires the most skilful attention. Natural affection is not enough; it must be wedded to care for the child's mind. Now, w.i.l.l.y-nilly, modern life itself takes such toll of nervous energy that there are few educated women today who go through all the child-bearing period and have sufficient nerve force to welcome each child that may 'come along' and rear it happily. Yet without adequate nervous energy in the mother what family can develop into healthy and well-balanced useful citizens? It necessarily follows that the output of children will be limited if the parents are to do their part adequately. Quant.i.ty, the ma.s.s production of the past, must give way to quality. That involves birth-control. How is it to be achieved?"

Without necessarily a.s.senting to the sentiments expressed in the above quotation, the Committee considers that such opinions cannot but demand thoughtful consideration. Dread of large families or of close-interval pregnancies under modern conditions is undoubtedly a common reason for attempting to limit the family.

But having made all allowances for the more difficult circ.u.mstances of modern times, the more thoughtful consideration of some husbands for their wives and of some parents for their children, and a legitimate intention to maintain a higher standard of living, it seems clear that amongst a considerable section of the community the demand for the limitation of families has pa.s.sed beyond these motives into regions of thoughtlessness and selfishness.

Furthermore, an att.i.tude of pitying superiority towards the woman with many children appears to be a current fas.h.i.+on. Many witnesses expressed the opinion that a young and sensitive mother was frequently deterred from a further pregnancy, for which she would in other circ.u.mstances be quite prepared, or tempted to seek abortion, because of the fear of ridicule by current public opinion.

Still other women, it has been explained, are influenced by comparisons. Seeing their neighbours leading less burdensome and more pleasure-full lives, they decide to follow suit.

The modern desire for pleasure and freedom from responsibility has led many to lose sight of the ideal of the family as a service to the State and the unit of social life.

Unwillingness on the part of the wife to give up remunerative work is a factor that operates in certain cases; this may be due to the position of the wife as the support of an invalid husband and family, but in other cases the reason is obviously selfish.

While dealing with this question of social outlook, it will not be out of place to refer to an aspect which, though mentioned by only a few witnesses, is known to all social workers as a factor of increasing importance. This is the fear of war. It may take the form of (_a_) conscious visualization of the horrors of war, or (_b_) sub-conscious fear evidenced by excessive anxiety regarding the future. In either case it acts as a powerful deterrent from child-bearing, although it is doubtful whether those who are influenced by this fear would resort to abortion where contraception had failed.

Speaking of social conditions, some witnesses, under the impression that the average age at marriage was rising, attribute the increasing abortion-rate among the unmarried partly to this cause.

The actual fact is that the age at marriage has decreased of late years, but is still probably higher than would be the case if economic conditions were more favourable.

It is clear that, whether the motives be worthy or selfish, women of all cla.s.ses are demanding the right to decide how many children they will have. Methods which depend on self-control are ruled out as impracticable. Contraceptives are largely used, and, judging by the marked decline in the birth-rate in recent years, are in many cases successful. In other cases, however, they are not so, and there is then frequently a resort to abortion.

(5) IGNORANCE OF EFFECTIVE METHODS OF CONTRACEPTION AND OF THE DANGERS OF ABORTION.

The public as a whole is ignorant of the physiology of reproduction.

This results in attempts being made to prevent conception by methods which are doomed to failure at the outset. The use of defective methods owing to their comparative cheapness and the unnecessarily high cost of effective appliances are undoubtedly among the causes of such failure.

While it is not the function of this Committee to report upon the wider aspect of contraception, but to deal with it only in relation to the abortion problem, yet we would point out that the evidence given showed that, though contraception is widely practised, many of the methods used are unreliable and not founded upon physiological knowledge, and that when they fail abortion is resorted to. Abortion is a delayed, dangerous, and unsatisfactory form of birth-control. It was stressed by some witnesses that many women have no idea of the risks to life and health involved in the procuring of abortion, a medical witness mentioning, among other evils, the tendency to spontaneous abortion arising from damage to the generative organs sustained at an initial induced abortion. Other witnesses, on the contrary, maintained that these risks are well known to the majority of women, but that when faced with an unwanted pregnancy they are willing to incur any risk.

Fuller reference to these dangers appears in another section of the report.

(6) INFLUENCE OF ADVERTISING.

The attention of the Committee was drawn to advertis.e.m.e.nts appearing in certain periodicals which, while openly advocating the use of various contraceptives, referred to restraint and self-control in deprecatory terms. Abortifacients were advertised in terms which, while equally offensive, were less obvious. Other advertis.e.m.e.nts set forth the contents of certain books on s.e.x matters of a very undesirable nature.

The language of these advertis.e.m.e.nts can only be described as obscene, and their possible effects on immature and inexperienced minds can well be imagined.

A reprehensible practice is that of certain so-called "mail order chemists," who send out price-lists of contraceptives and abortifacients indiscriminately through the post. In some cases these advertis.e.m.e.nts were shown to be of a definitely misleading and fraudulent character.

PART III.--POSSIBLE REMEDIAL MEASURES.

Having reviewed the position as it exists in New Zealand, and having set out what appear to be the main causes, it now remains to consider possible preventive measures.

(1) THE RELIEF OF ECONOMIC STRESS.

In so far as hards.h.i.+ps resulting from economic difficulties are genuine, the Committee believes that there is a real call for and that there are definite possibilities of relief by the State.

Two cla.s.ses in particular call for most sympathetic consideration:--

(1) The wives of the unemployed, or of those precariously employed.

(2) The wives of those engaged in small farming, especially in the dairy-farming districts of the North Island.

For such women we consider that much could be done by way of financial, domestic, and obstetrical help.

_Financial Help._--In general terms all efforts at social betterment--the reduction of unemployment, the improvement of wages and relief, the reduction of taxation, direct and indirect, and the provision of better housing conditions--should undoubtedly help to make conditions more secure and more satisfactory for the rearing of larger families.

But further than this, we believe that really adequate financial a.s.sistance _directly related to the encouragement of the family_ is urgently called for.

It is perfectly clear that general financial improvement does not, itself, necessarily bring about larger families; limitation of the family is probably more prevalent amongst those more fortunately placed. What form this financial aid to the family should take requires much consideration.

The a.s.sistance is required not merely at the time of confinement, but also during the much longer period of the rearing and the education of the family.

A general extension of the maternity allowance under any national health scheme would afford some immediate financial a.s.sistance.

Income-tax exemption for children, however generous the scale, would not benefit these badly circ.u.mstanced cases, for already they are below the income-tax limit.

It would appear that further financial provision would have to take the form of a direct children's allowance.

It is suggested that this might be put into effect by amending the present Family Allowances Act to provide that--

(1) The amount be increased;

(2) The permissible income-level be increased;

(3) That, where given, the allowance be in respect of all the children in the family; and

(4) That the age-limit of the children be increased to sixteen.

_Domestic a.s.sistance._--Equally important is the provision of domestic a.s.sistance, and here we are faced with a problem of the greatest difficulty--a national problem which is affecting women in all walks of life and of which this is but one aspect.

In many farming districts it is clear that lack of domestic help is a greater burden to the hara.s.sed mother than even financial stringency.

Many admirable efforts are being made to give a.s.sistance in this direction--in the country by the housekeeper plans of the Women's Division of the Farmers' Union and other organizations, in the cities by the Mothers Help Society and similar agencies.

Extension of such system is highly desirable, and the possibility of their organization on a much larger scale with Government subsidy well deserves consideration.

In many cases these efforts are limited as much by lack of personnel as by lack of funds.

Alternatively, we suggest--

(1) That the Government should inaugurate and recruit a National Domestic Service Corps of young women agreeable to enter the domestic-service profession;