ABORTION AND MEDICAL PRACTICE
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] S nt,—Dr. R. 0. Adamson in his letter of July 29th seems to believe that any woman, married or unmarried, may be forced to bear a child against her will, provided only that its birth is not likely to entail her death. The fate of the unwanted child is not considered. The National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children provides but too many instances of this.
In the case of rape, such a child can only be a perpetual reminder of the most hideous moment of its mother's life, coupled with the dread of what it may have inherited from its bestial father. Adoption by strangers is the child's best chance. Even then it may possibly learn its origin later and be painfully affected. During a revolution in the Balkans I had occasion to enquire into the cases of several girls woo had been raped by the enemy and were pregnant. I was assured that no help would be required, as in all such cases the child was not allowed to be born alive. nitaitive and often dangerous means of abortion are in use all the world over and will be, until civilisa- tion is sufficiently advanced to permit the operation to be ' safely performed by qualified medical men. A wider spread of birth-control methods would save an infinite amount of suffering.
The emancipation of women is of slight value if it does not include the right to control and possess their own bodies. Mr. Bourne has earned the thanks of many, and it is to be hoped that the legal position will be reconsidered.—Yours, &c.,
M. E. DURHAM.
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