Natural family planning

Press, 14 August 1978, Page 16

Natural family planning

Sir, — B. Roberts’s statement (August 12), that the time of great st sexual desire in women is around ovulation is a relic of theories held in the early 195 Cs. More recent research has shown that the highest levels of sexual desire coincide with the. premenstrual and early menstrual phase. Different investigators, using different samples, report peaks of sexual arousal and activity at virtually every time during the menstrual cycle. That an educated and intelligent woman could be unaware of this and then refer to the constant fertility of a man and the periodic fertility and infertility of a woman as only my “assumption” demonstrates clearly just how effective is the seduction of women into the belief that the means by which women are enslaved will set them “free.” — Yours, etc.,

R. P. DALZIEL August 12, 1978.

Sir, — I find Mr Alan L. Wilkinson’s statement (Aug. 10) about the failure rate of the natural family planning method very misleading. He says that "50 to 100 per cent of women would conceive an unwanted chili" in their lifetime.” In the article by Averill Bathurst the failure rate was quoted as being less than 3 per cent. — Yours, etc.,

M. CUNNEEN August 10, 1978,

Sir, —R. P. Dalziel believes women should continue to risk pregnancy so that men cannot exploit them. Three recent Christchurch examples show this “narrow religious morality” in action. While my wife' was campaigning for political action by women, a 65-year-old woman described how her religious upbringing had prevented her enjoying sex throughout her married life. A 19-year-old pregnant girl went to her family for money to go to Australia for an abortion, but was banished to a country town with instructons not to come home until the baby had been adopted. A. young

mother of four children was sterilised and was condemned by her mother-in-law who believed she should have said “no” to her husband for the rest of her life. I find these attitudes sad, and so unnecessary.—Yours, etc., ALAN L. WILKINSON. August 12, 1978.