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97
Since 1955, the teenagers of our country have doubled the
illegitimacy rate. Of the year's total of 67,056 registered illegitimate
live births, some 20,582 were to girls under the age of 20 years.
Furthermore, it is certain that the quarter million unwanted pregnancies
per annum was a potent factor in the framing of the
Abortion Act introduced during the current year. In giving rise
to such problems it is useless to pretend that our present high rate
of unplanned pregnancies is of benefit to society.
At the beginning of this century, the hazard to infant life of
infections like diarrhoea, tuberculosis, diphtheria, etc., was considerable
and gave rational grounds for State and religious objections
to birth control. Since then we have been extremely successful
in reducing infant mortality to the position where 96 out of every
100 children now born will reach maturity. Until recently, however,
no comparable steps had been taken to control births.
Poverty, another potent social disadvantage, is usually a concomitant
of the large family, the children of which so often find
themselves handicapped either physically or mentally or even
educationally compared with those from the smaller family.
Most people do not consult their own doctor about sexual problems,
much preferring outside bodies for advice of this nature. For
this very reason, successful family planning is more likely to be
achieved by local authority clinics where the staff are in constant
touch with mothers before and after the birth of their children.
Planned parenthood tends to strengthen family life, prevents
marital disharmony, ill-health and social breakdown and its aim
is the enrichment of all human life. There should be no lack of
support for a measure the objective of which is to prevent the
mental, physical and social disasters revealed in the overburdened
homeless families units, reception centres, foster homes, hospitals,
remand homes and prisons. It is a sobering thought that many of
these problems could be avoided if the community were prepared
to spend on prevention only a fraction of what it now employs for
their palliation.
I am indebted to Harold Pring, Organising Secretary of the South
East London Branch of the Family Planning Association for the
following account of his association's activities in this Borough
during 1967.
"The South East London Branch of the Family Planning Association
acknowledges with deep gratitude the help it has received
from the London Borough of Greenwich during the year 1967,
whereby they have together been able to make a real contribution