ABORTION EVIL

Evening Star, Issue 22723, 10 August 1937, Page 13

ABORTION EVIL

MEETING A GROWING MENACE LOCAL CAMPAIGN INSTITUTED UNCOMPROMISING STAND OF CATHOLIC CHURCH Recent knowledge of the appalling incidence of abortion throughout the Dominion has brought about an immediate reaction in the institution of a campaign to combat this growing evil. Last evening there was a meeting in the Council Chambers representative of all sections of tbe community, and the first step was taken in establishing a strong local committee which will without delay promote a programme that will bring homo to the people of the city and the province the gravity of the situation and at the same time suggest measures to meet that situation. The mayor (the Rev. E. T. Cox) presided, and both he and Dr J. B. Dawson, professor of midwifery and gynaecology at the University of Otago, presentedto the meeting some startling and. disturbing statistics. Dr Dawson offered several suggestions for consideration by tbe committee, and among these was whether or not there should for various reasons be a wider power for legitimate abortion. To any such suggestion, however, Monsignor Morkane, as the representative of the Catholic Church, expressed uncompromising hostility. Monsignor Morkane was “ astounded that any reputable doctor should commit or condone therapeutic abortion,” and held that there was no difference between that practice and criminal abortion. Both, he declared,- were a violation of the laws of Nature and of God. COMMITTEE OF ACTION. Mr Cox said that he had called this meeting of representative men and women so that they might consider the advisability of forming a committee of action whose function would be: 1. To keep in touch with those in other centres who were giving attention to this question. 2. To do anything that was possible in the community to investigate further the social problem that was confronting them. 3. To consider ways and means of arousing the public conscience in checking what was undoubtedly one of the great crying evils of the age. 4. To encourage women to recognise that, with the skill and knowledge available to-day, there was an everdecreasing maternal danger and painfulness in childbirth. ALARMING FACTS. The summary of the report presented some very alarming facts, continued the Mayor. Among these were: 1. That at least one pregnancy in every five ended in abortion in New Zealand. In other words, 6,000 cases occur every year —and two-thirds of these were criminally induced. 2. This condition was due to—(a) Economic and domestic hardship; (b) changes in social and moral outlook; (c) intimacy amongst the unmarried; (d) fear of childbirth. POSSIBLE REMEDIES. As to remedies, the committee suggested ' consideration of—(1) Better financial, domestic, and obstetrical aid from the State. (2) Making the knowledge of the low death rate in childbirth more widely known. (3) The unmarried: The attack must be better education in sox matters in childhood; prohibition of the sale of contraceptives to the young; and a more tolerant attitude on the part of society towards these girts and their children. It would he seen from this brief summary that there was great scope for activity in social welfare on the part of those who had the interest of the country and the nation at heart. It was surely a very sad commentary on our times that New Zealand should have such a high septic abortion mortality. These figures, concluded the mayor, were very illuminating:—Now Zealand, 1.73 per 1,000 live births; Australia, 1.45; U.S.A., 1.02; England and Wales, .49; Irefland (Free State), .07. INCIDENCE OF ONE IN THREE. Dr Dawson presented some disturbing figures to the meeting. Ho first said that the Committee of Inquiry was not necessarily a committee of action. The last sentence of its report, in point of fact, was an invitation to the people of New Zealand to take action. It had been estimated that the average number of abortion cases in New Zealand was about 6,000, and Dr Dawson personally believed that this assessment was below the mark. But of these, at least 4,000 were criminally induced. His own investigations showed that where there was a return of 1,752 live births there were 549 abortion cases. This made the incidence of abortion at one to three. Taking the average birth rate of the Dominion at 20,000, this gave an incidence of about 7,000 abortions. Dr Dawson pointed out that there had been a steady increase in the abortion rate. In the period of from 1930 to 1935 there had been a 25 per cent, increase on tho previous five years. GREAT MAJORITY MARRIED WOMEN. It was not solely a problem concerning the woman. Ear from it. Of 733 cases admitted to the Dunedin Hospital, only 89 were single women. Those who had four to seven children constituted 48.7 of the cases. Dr Dawson investigated tho history of 300 cases and divided them into three sections. The first hundred were women over 40 years of age. Here there was an incidence of ono abortion to 5.4 live births. In the second division, that of women between 30 and 40 years, it was one to 2.7. In the)third section, that of women between 20 and 30, it was one to 1.45. AN ANCIENT PRACTICE. _ These figures inevitably led to consideration of tho question of what was commonly called race suicide. Abortion was not now, and had been common in all civilisation from 5,000 me. Records showed that even at that time the Chinese had proscriptions to procure abortion. If tho practice were allowed to develop it would seem that there would be a natural consequence of a race of elderly people, witli no one growing up to take their places. The attitude of tho public was very largely that of tho man who was too lazy to exercise his vote—“ my vote doesn’t matter—let the other follow do it.” And it was very difficult to rouso people to the gravity of the situation from a national point of view. The risk of this procuration of abortion was infinitely greater than having children in the natural manner, stated Dr Dawson. Only eight women lost their lives in natural childbirth, where 23 died from infected abortion. And,

quite apart from these deaths, there was a much bigger roll of persons rendered invalids by abortion. •‘A procuration of abortion is a broach of tho law. If you have laws being broken with impunity—as this is —you must develop a laxity towards nil Jaws, and there will gradually develop from there a contempt for all laws,” added Dr Dawson. SUGGESTIONS FOR COMMITTEE. Dr Dawson had several suggestions for consideration by tho committee. Tho first of these was whether it would bo advisable to alter tho law that was supposed to control the performance of illegal operations. Then, whether it would bo wise to widen the scope of legitimate abortions. As the law stood, there was only ono reason for terminating pregnancy, and that was where the.ro existed the danger of the death of the mother. In other cases medical men found it necessary to perform operations to protect tho health of their patients. Then the committee might consider the matter of the sale of contraceptives. A further point that might be debated was whether it would he wise to urge the Government to permit convictions to be entered by a jury on a majority verdict. There was recently a flagrant case of an abortionist being acquitted by a jury. If the economic aspect were to be considered, Dr Dawson considered that it was not for the medical man to decide if pregnancy should he terminated. That was a matter for another tribunal. Ho quoted, to support this argument, a case he was aware of in which a married woman, 24 years of age, with four children and a husband out of work, lay dying because she attempted to terminate her fifth pregnancy by some means of her own. Dr Dawson concluded by saying that be was not in complete agreement with tho findings of the report, but ho did subsci’ibe to the view that there should ho a more charitable attitude to the unmarried mother. ENLIGHTENED PUBLIC OPINION NECESSARY. Mrs W. N. Benson told the meeting that when the National Council of Women decided to act in this matter it was folt that tho situation bristled with such difficulties and called for such wide and deep consideration that tho practical advice and collaboration of experts in different fields—in law, medicine, and in educational, youth, social, and religious work—was needed. Their first objective must bo to realise and face up to the situation, and, above ail, create an enlightened public opinion before securing necessary amendments to the legislation. ECONOMIC HARDSHIP. Mrs W. Herbert suggested that one of the big factors in the incidence of abortion was that of economic hardship —tho fear of bringing children into the world with the knowledge that they could not be fed. If economic security could he given to these women by employment for the bread-winner and more adequate living and housing conditions that fear would bo removed. Mrs Herbert also felt that there should be lectures and teaching for the youth of tho community, from 17 years upwards, and was sure this would help to a very largo degree. It was then decided, on the motion of tho Rev. C. H. Olds and Mrs Ashn, that a local committee be set up to take immediate action in combating the abortion evil. OUTSPOKEN COMMENT. “ As a representative of tho Catholic Church—small in this country, but great in tho world—l appear hero tonight with very definite views, which will not he acceptable to most of you declared Monsignor Morkane. “ The Catholic Church has no hesitation or doubts whatever in these matters. It has been a great disappointment to me that so far there has been no reference to the fundamental principles underlying such a discussion as this—that abortion is a violation of the laws of Nature and of God. (Applause.) Nobody is more sympathetic with any movement designed to stop tho title of this dreadful evil than the Catholic Church, but we consider, and always will consider, that the basic root of it lies in a lack of a sense of sin and a conscious violation of the laws of God And if you do remove that fundamental fault you are merely beating the air. “ The Catholic Church will be completely opposed to Dr Dawson or any other medical man in any suggestion that might widen, the field of abortion. The Catholic Church holds that there is no difference in the operations of criminal or therapeutic abortion We do not believe that it is the right or any doctor, society, or Government to interfere with the inalienable rights of a child in its mother’s womb, and it is astounding to me that any reputable doctor should commit or condone therapeutic abortion. It has been hinted that in certain cases where there is grave economic hardship there should be a right to abortion. We do not believe in that, but we do behove that such persons have a right to better conditions. Tho matter is an economic evil that could be remedied- by just laws.” “CONTRACEPTIVE EVIL.” “ We look upon contraceptives as an instrument of evil, and it is a shame that our papers should bo allowed to publish advertisements for such things,” declared Monsignor Morkane. “It is lamentable that wo have such advertisements on one page and l on another articles deploring the falling birth rate. For the single mother we have every possible sympathy and will extend to her all the charity we can give. The evil, however, is not so prevalent among unmarried women, its cause, we hold, comes from a lack of religious principle and_ of .ft reverence for tho laws of Nature and of God. God gives life to the children—Man cannot take it away for any reason ho thinks fit-! The church dissociates itself from any movement that might subscribe to that view, from the establishment of birth control clinics where women can bo taught any such evil, and from the connivance of the Government and the newspapers in the sale of goods that bring about abortions so frequently. The fundamental principle, I repeat, is a religions one, and unless we can instil moral and religious principles into our youth wo might as well try to push back the sea.” After an informal discussion as to the constitution of the local committee. it was decided that Dr Dawson, tho Rev. Mr Olds, and l Mrs Benson should act as tho conveners of a committee to he made up of representatives of tho medical and legal professions and educational, social. religious, women’s and youth organisations.