d for life, or it
may kill her outright. If she is so unfortunate as to be unable to get
anybody to produce an abortion, she gives birth to an illegitimate
child, which she is forced in most cases to put away in an institution
of some sort where she hopes and prays it may die soon--and, in
general, it does. If it does not die, she has for the rest of her life
a Damocles' sword hanging over her head, and she is in constant terror
lest her sin be found out. She does not permit herself to look for a
mate, but if she does get married, the specter of her antematrimonial
experience is constantly before her eyes. After years and years of
married life, the husband may divorce her if he finds out that she had
"sinned" before she knew him. And unless the husband is a broad-minded
man and loves her truly and unless she made a clean breast of
everything to him before marriage, her life is continuous torture. But
even if the girl escaped pregnancy, the mere finding out that she had
an illicit experience deprives her of social standing, or makes her a
social outcast and entirely destroys or greatly minimizes her chances
of ever marrying and establishing a home of her own. She must remain a
lonely wanderer to the end of her days.

The enormous difference in the results of a misstep in a boy and a
girl is clearly seen, and for this reason alone, if for no other, sex
instruction is of more importance to the girl than it is to the boy.

But there are other important reasons, and one of them is beautifully
and truthfully expressed by Byron in his two well-known lines.

Man's love is of man's life a thing apart,
'Tis woman's whole existence.

Yes, love is a woman's whole life.

Some modern women might object to this. They might say that this was
true of the woman of the past, who was excluded from all other avenues
of human activity. The woman of the present day has other interests
besides those of Love. But I claim that this is true of only a small
percentage of women; and in even this small minority of women, social,
scientific and artistic activities cannot take the place of love; no
matter how busy and successful these women may be, they will tell you
if you enjoy their confidence that they are unhappy, if their love
life is unsatisfactory. Nothing, nothing can fill the void made by the
lack of love. The various activities may help to cover up the void, to
protect it from strange eyes, they cannot fill it. For essentially