STERILIZATION 41 



When it can be finally decided that no more children 

 ought to be born, the fact that steriUzation is a step which 

 cannot be retraced may make it especially suitable as a 

 purely voluntary method of preventing parenthood, at aU 

 events in the case of men. Its adoption should, therefore, 

 be carefully considered in certain circumstances. When a 

 man has been insane it seems to be especially suitable; 

 because, as has been seen, he had better then give up all 

 idea of having any or more children. As to a woman in 

 the same circumstances, it would be preferable if her 

 husband, or the man she is going to marry, would consent 

 to be sterihzed, so that she might be saved from the more 

 serious operation. With improved methods of sterilization 

 no doubt in this case also it should be the woman who 

 ought to be rendered incapable of parenthood ; because it 

 would certainly be undesirable to prevent the chance of a 

 sound man becoming a parent if he should marry a second 

 time. What has just been said about insanity is equally 

 true in regard to a number of other rare hereditary diseases. 

 Sterihzation is also suitable when the consent to have no 

 more children is given reluctantly; for then it would be 

 desirable that the decision arrived at should not be revocable 

 at wiU. 



As to the feeble in mind, any consent which might be 

 obtained from them would be meaningless. Parents and 

 guardians should, therefore, be empowered to allow 

 sterilization to take place when they see fit. As to criminals, 

 paupers, and all hving uncivihzed lives in a civiHzed country, 

 their sterihzation would not only tend to purify the race, 

 but might be beneficial by preventing the appearance of big 

 famihes in bad homes. To these subjects we shaU, however, 

 return in later chapters. 



As an objection to sterilization, and indeed to aU other 

 methods of preventing parenthood, it has been urged that 

 the racial improvement thus brought about would be very 

 slowly obtained. But even if it were so, to lessen the 

 amount of insanity, mental defect, crime, and the many 

 other failings found in association with them, would 



D 



