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Abstract

The year 1921 represented a turning point for the birth control movement. In London on 17 March Marie Stopes opened the first birth control clinic in the British Empire. By 19 November the Malthusian League had established a centre for contraceptive instruction. In Birmingham on 12 October, Lord Dawson, the King’s physician, outspokenly supported birth control in an address to the lay Church Congress. A groundswell of forces led up to these three events which caused a public sensation. Crucial to understanding their impact is an appreciation of the prevailing hostility towards contraception.

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© 1980 Audrey Leathard

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Leathard, A. (1980). The Forces of Change. In: The Fight for Family Planning. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-04451-1_1

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