As seen by the Committee, the reasons which lead to a resort to
abortion may be set out under the following broad headings:--
(1) Economic and domestic hardship.
(2) Fear of labour and its sequelae.
(3) Pregnancy in the unmarried.
(4) Changes in social outlook.
(5) Ignorance of effective methods of contraception and of the
dangers of abortion.
(6) Influence of advertising.
(1) ECONOMIC AND DOMESTIC HARDSHIP.
(_a_) _Poverty._--Cases arise where the parents are on the bread-line
and have no means of supporting a child, but the Committee is of
opinion that such extreme poverty is rare in New Zealand.
More common are the cases in which income is sufficient for a small
family but a larger one would constitute hardship, or, alternatively,
in which income is sufficient to support several small children but not
to provide education, &c., in later life. The view, formerly widely
accepted, that membership of a large family is in itself a valuable
contribution to education and to the training of responsible citizens,
appears to be at a discount, and many parents now consider that
advantages which can be _given_ to a child as a result of family
limitation outweigh the natural advantages of a large family in which
the children develop initiative through companionship.
(_b_) _Housing._--This constitutes an acute problem in crowded city
areas. In many cases houses which are past repair and already condemned
form the only shelter for a growing family. Ordinary domestic and
hygienic conveniences are often lacking. Where a family is able to pay
for better accommodation, difficulties frequently arise owing to the
unwillingness of landlords to accept tenants with children, and, as the
demand for houses exceeds the supply, landlords are able to pick and
choose. The lack also of suitable cottages on farms for married couples
with children probably has a considerable influence on the limitation
or avoidance of families and leads to a premium being placed on
childlessness because married couples without "encumbrances" can more
easily obtain employment. This is an aspect of the problem that should
receive earnest consideration.
(_c_) _Domestic._--Lack of help in the home even by those who can
afford it is a factor of very great importance. This applies especially
to country life, where a woman's whole physical energy is taken up by
attention to domestic matters and often also to farm-work, to the
detriment of family life. The following is an account given to one
witness by a farmer's wife, describing an average day's work:--
"Rise 4.30, have cup of tea--wife to shed, set machines, hubby to
bring cows--start milking 5 a.m., hard going to 8 o'clock; wife
returns house to get breakfast, also see to children and cut
lunches for them to take to school. Hubby feeds calves, fowls, and
ducks, then breakfast. Load milk on express, harness horse, away to
factory mile away--get whey return. Now 9 o'clock, wife has
machines down and washes, hubby hose down shed. Drive whey down to
paddocks and feed 40 pigs, returns, unharness horse, wash cart
down, yoke team to plough, disk, &c. Wife to start housework about
10 o'clock, dinner at 12.30 to be ready, or taken down to paddocks
(if harvesting 3 or 4 men are working). Usual times fencing,
repairing sheds, fixing yards, besides other farm duties till
3.30--afternoon tea--children given something to eat on returning
from school. Husband and wife to sheds again 4 till 7. Hubby washes
machines, feeds calves, &c., wife in meantime has returned house,
washed children and put to bed before sitting down to her tea at 8
o'clock--by time washed up is 9 o'clock--too tired to do anything
else but crawl into bed."
The lack of adequate playing-areas, kindergartens, and other means of
employing the time of the pre-school child outside the home is a matter
that was brought before the notice of the Committee as another of the
domestic difficulties. This is one of the factors preventing that
amount of leisure which is necessary for the well-being of the mother.
(_d_) _Cost of Confinement._--This was stressed particularly by country
witnesses. Where a woman is beyond the reach of medical attendance and
has to travel a considerable distance to hospital this adds materially
to the cost of the confinement. To some women even moderate hospital
and medical fees are prohibitive, and the problem is rendered more
difficult still by the necessity for providing extra help in the home
or on the farm during the wife's absence. It was, however, rightly
pointed out by one witness that the fees paid to an abortionist and the
economic waste due to subsequent ill health would in many cases more
than pay the expenses of an ordinary confinement.
(2) FEAR OF LABOUR AND ITS SEQUELAE.
This was referred to by several witnesses, some of who cited cases from
their own experience. An erroneous idea seems to be prevalent among
certain sections of the laity that the total abolition of pain during
labour is possible for every patient. The fear that such relief will be
withheld has been suggested as a cause for women seeking the
abortionist. It would seem, however, that, with the increasing
knowledge of methods of pain-relief in labour, more extensive
ante-natal and post-natal care, and the cultivation of a more normal
psychological outlook among pregnant women, the fear complex will in
future assume progressively less importance. The Committee believes
that increasing attention is being paid to these aspects by the medical
profession.
As to the bearing of this matter on the subject of abortion, several
witnesses, among whom were two obstetricians of wide experience,
expressed the opinion that, while fear of pregnancy and labour is rare,
fear of infection following abortion is a factor the recognition of
which is becoming more general.
The Committee is of opinion that fear of labour is not a major factor,
and this opinion is supported by many witnesses.
Ill health was alleged as a cause in a few instances, but it would
appear that, in spite of the ambiguous state of the law, no genuine
ease of ill health need resort to abortion by clandestine methods. This
is referred to in greater detail elsewhere.
(3) PREGNANCY IN THE UNMARRIED.
While this constitutes only a small part of the general problem of
abortion, it is, nevertheless, a matter of great importance, and one
which merits the closest study. Undoubtedly the general attitude
towards the unmarried mother to-day is kinder and more tolerant than
was formerly the case, but the fact remains that the single girl who
determines to face the world with her child may find herself subject to
unreasonable and unnecessary cruelty and injustice. Excellent work in
assisting the single mother is done by various religious and charitable
organizations, and where a girl is driven to the abortionist this is
more likely to be due to fear of social ostracism than to lack of ways
and means of caring for the child.
Several witnesses mentioned ignorance of matters relating to sex as
being frequently responsible for pregnancy in the unmarried. This is
undoubtedly the case, and the responsibility of parents, guardians, and
teachers in this matter is evident. The evil influence of drinking on
young people was also stressed, medical and social workers being well
aware of the importance of this factor. Alcohol consumption need not be
excessive to undermine self-control and dull the moral sense.
(4) CHANGES IN THE SOCIAL OUTLOOK.
The Committee believes that, in the altered social outlook,
particularly towards the rearing of large families, lies a very
important cause for the present situation. This aspect of the matter is
intimately interwoven with the economic considerations already set
forth, but extends far beyond them.
The point of view of what we believe to be a very large body of women
is illustrated 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 L300 to L400 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 L400 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 class--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 attitude. 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, willy-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. Quantity, the mass production of the past, must
give way to quality. That involves birth-control. How is it to be
achieved?"
Without necessarily assenting 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 circumstances 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 passed beyond these motives into regions of
thoughtlessness and selfishness.
Furthermore, an attitude of pitying superiority towards the woman with
many children appears to be a current fashion. Many witnesses expressed
the opinion that a young and sensitive mother was frequently deterred
from a further pregnancy, for which she would in other circumstances 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 classes 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 advertisements 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 advertisements set forth the
contents of certain books on sex matters of a very undesirable nature.
The language of these advertisements 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
advertisements were shown to be of a definitely misleading and
fraudulent character.