nd to devote this
chapter to a detailed presentation of the arguments in favor of the
rational regulation of offspring. It would have to be merely a
repetition of the arguments that I have presented elsewhere.[8] But a
few points may well be touched upon here.

In spite of the fact that the subject of birth control is much better
known now than it was when we first started to propagate it, still it
cannot be mentioned too often, for the misapprehensions concerning it
almost keep pace with the propaganda. First, there is a foolish notion
that we would try to regulate the number of children forcibly, that we
would compel people to have a small number of children. Nothing could
apparently be more absurd, and still many people sincerely believe it.
Nothing is further from the truth. On the contrary, much as we are in
favor of birth control, we advise limitation of offspring only to
those who for various reasons, financial, hereditary or hygienic, are
unable to have many children. We emphatically believe that couples who
are in excellent health, who are of untainted heredity, who are fit to
bring up children, and have the means to do so, should have at least
half a dozen children. If they should have one dozen, they would
deserve the thanks of the community. All we claim is that in such an
important matter as bringing children into the world, the parents who
have to carry the full burden of bringing up these children should
have the right to decide. They should have the means of control. They
should be able to say whether they will have two or six or one dozen
children.

=Contraceptive Measures=

And the argument that contraceptives are injurious to the health of
the woman, of the man, or of both, may be curtly dismissed. It is not
true of any of the modern contraceptives. But even if it were true,
the amount of injury that can be done by contraceptives would be like
a drop of water in comparison with the injuries resulting from
excessive pregnancies and childbirths. Some of the contraceptive
measures require some trouble to use, some are unesthetic, but these
are trifles and constitute a small price to pay for the privilege of
being able to regulate the number of one's offspring according to
one's intelligent desires.

The commonest argument now made against contraceptives is that they
are not absolutely safe, that is, absolutely to be relied upon, that
they will not prevent in absolutely every case. This is true; bu