Chapter IX 

 Sterilization 



STERILIZATION is another means of preventing 

 parenthood which must be considered. It may, in 

 fact, be regarded as a proper method of birth control in 

 certain circumstances. 



In the discussions on sterilization, prejudices have often 

 resulted from a misunderstanding as to the nature of the 

 operation which, it is proposed, should be performed. We 

 shall here only be considering certain surgical methods 

 which have been introduced comparatively recently; for 

 the ordinary stockyard way of sterilizing the male is never 

 advocated for eugenic purposes. Moreover, there are some 

 reasonable grounds for hoping that still better means of 

 preventing parenthood will be available before long ; these 

 being perhaps dependent on the use either of X-rays or of 

 injections into the blood. 



The operation now generally adopted in the case of males, 

 known as vasectomy, is a trifling affair, which can be per- 

 formed under local anaesthetics. The operation on females, 

 salpingectomy, is a more serious matter, being perhaps 

 comparable in risk to that for appendicitis when there are 

 no compHcations. The difficulty of operating on females 

 affords no excuse, however, for not operating on males. In 

 regard to both operations, the character and the life of the 

 patient are in no way affected, except that parenthood does 

 not result from the union of the sexes. 



Sterilization has been advocated both as a punishment 

 and as a safeguard to the pubUc in regard to sexual offences. 

 The above-mentioned operation on the male would, however, 

 be no safeguard against assault. Moreover, the threat of 

 performing these operations would have little deterrent 



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