WHAT IS TO BE DONE? 107 



is to take away from these people the power of procrea- 

 tion. The earlier method proposed was unsexing, asex- 

 ualization, as it is sometimes called, or the removing, 

 from the male and female, the necessary organs for 

 procreation. The operation in the female is that of 

 ovariectomy and in the male of castration. 



There are two great practical difficulties in the way 

 of carrying out this method on any large scale. The 

 first is the strong opposition to this practice on the part 

 of the public generally. It is regarded as mutilation 

 of the human body and as such is opposed vigorously 

 by many people. And while there is no rational basis 

 for this, nevertheless we have, as practical reformers, 

 to recognize the fact that the average man acts not 

 upon reason, but upon sentiment and feeling; and as 

 long as human sentiment and feeling are opposed to this 

 practice, no amount of reasoning will avail. It may 

 be shown over and over again that many a woman has 

 had the operation of ovariectomy performed in order 

 to improve her physical condition, and that it is just as 

 important to improve the moral condition as the phys- 

 ical. Nevertheless, the argument does not convince, 

 and there remains the opposition as stated. 



In recent years surgeons have discovered another 

 method which has many advantages. This is also 



