Family planning

Abstract

“Family planning” was a rather late coinage for the practice of using contraceptives. The deliberate control of conception within marriage by artificial means for reasons of economy and health had been advocated since the early 19th century. Neo-Malthusians accepted the Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus's doctrine that population unless controlled would outrun agricultural resources, but moved on from his remedies of late marriage and self-control to suggest that human ingenuity might enable sexual enjoyment without procreation. The titles of their works do not suggest wild carnality—Illustrations and Proofs of the Principle of Population and The Law of Population—while terms such as “precautionary means” and “prudential limitation” struck a similarly dour note of gloomy forethought, possibly to counter the prevalent belief that contraception was all about self-indulgence. A radical shift came with the advent of the term “birth control”, usually attributed to the pioneering US reformer Margaret Sanger (1883–1966), who also used the phrase “family limitation”, which foregrounded the notion of contraception as being about “family values”. This idea of control over reproduction as a positive act was further emphasised by British campaigner Marie Stopes (1880–1958), who set up her own Society for Constructive Birth Control as a rival to what she perceived as the fuddy-duddy economic arguments of the Malthusian League. The shift to family planning occurred in the late 1930s, when the British National Birth Control Association became the Family Planning Association, locating the movement firmly in concerns about family wellbeing. Contemporary progressive thinkers were also arguing for the social benefits of planning more generally. The think-tank Political and Economic Planning was established and key individuals were involved with both groups. Although rhetorically a useful term, family planning somewhat misrepresents the rather more contingent process by which individual families are created. Studies suggest that forethought and long-term planning are not necessarily the most salient elements involved. The rise in sex outside of marriage and the extensive resort to postcoital contraceptives have perhaps transformed the term for the 21st century. However, its importance has not diminished, especially in those countries where contraceptive choices for women are curtailed.