The Dominion. SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 1938. A GRAVE SOCIAL PROBLEM

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 154, 26 March 1938, Page 10

The Dominion. SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 1938. A GRAVE SOCIAL PROBLEM

In a statement published to-day a number of representative citizens, whose standing in the community should commend their opinions to the serious attention of the public, submit certain views on the subject of criminal abortion. It is explained that these represent the results of the thought and labour of nearly forty people of various occupations who have been meeting in Wellington during the last nine months, and who are in .substantial agreement with the conclusions set out in the statement. It is greatly to the credit of those who have voluntarily addressed themselves to the task of following up the report of the committee appointed by the Government in 1936 “to inquire into the various aspects of the problem of abortion in New Zealand,” that they have been able to produce so candid, dispassionate, and constructive a statement on such a difficult subject. Although the main question attacked was the evil of criminal abortion, consideration of this involved an extension of the field of inquiry into related problems touching the social and moral welfare of the community. Those associated in the examination of these matters have performed their self-appointed task in a realistic spirit. They have with admirable courage faced the facts of the situation, and taken the hard practical view that there is nothing to be gained by glossing over a state of affairs that if not corrected may well result in widespread moral corruptibility and ultimate social disintegration. . , The problem presents medical, social, economic and racial aspects of profound importance to the general welfare of the State. An essential requirement toward its solution is public enlightenment. Lamentable ignorance on the subject of sex prevailed in the past largely as the result of bigoted interdictions. This has been broken down by a kind of education which has led those to whom a little knowledge is a dangerous thing” to an entirely wrong attitude. During recent years much authoritative and wholesome literature on the subject has been published, but the moral guidance'necessary to ensure that this information will be used in the right way has been tragically lacking. Social prudery having driven this most vital question into the unhealthy atmosphere of furtive discussion, and, worse still, of pornographic levity, it is now demanded of society for the preservation of the decencies of life and its own preservation that the subject should be placed on the highest possible plane of thought and idealism, and treated with the same earnestness and frankness as we do our bodily ailments and infirmities. . ' . « < ■The knowledge which enables married people to practise “voluntary parenthood"—discussed at 'some length in ,the statement —and the unmarried to escape the consequences of incontinent behaviour,, is so dangerous in its possibilities of moral, social, and physical mischief that measures for controlling its abuse are most obviously necessary. Although the authors of the statement concede thht voluntary, parenthood is justified, it may be questioned whether there is unanimity of agreement on the question. It is highly controversial ground, because religious dogma, economic considerations and individual temperaments are all in conflict. Nevertheless, it must be accepted as a fact of modern civilised life. Our concern at the moment, however, is with the abuse of the knowledge which has made voluntary parenthood possible, and it must be agreed as a matter of the highest moral importance ; that the right kind of • education is the most essential factor. The authors of the statement, with commendable wisdom and discernment, have realised the value of this method of attack, and given it due and impressive emphasis. Of far greater importance than the stricter supervision of the means for improper and indiscriminate, resort to abortifacients and contraceptives is the creation of a new public attitude and a more wholesome understanding of the science of sex. Undoubtedly the most powerful educative influence in such intimate matters is that which can be exercised by parents in the upbringing of their children. Little scientific learning is needed to impress upon youthful minds the importance of maintaining the decencies of family and communal life, and of clean thinking. These early inhibitions have a lasting quality. More scientific instruction may well be deferred till the critical period of adolescence. At this stage, home influences could valuably be supplemented in the. schools by enlightenment concerning the biological aspects of the subject, and the need for self-discipline and right thinking. The authors wisely recognise that if the schools are to participate, the instruction should be left in the hands only of experienced teachers capable of handling this difficult subject with sympathetic tact and understanding.. Much has been said a'nd written concerning the need for sex education in the past, but that squeamish modesty that has characterised society’s treatment of the problem—a modesty both false and dangerous —has prevented people from addressing themselves to practical measures.