James Nicholas Butler

“ It is a well-known fact that battles have been fought, and lost, and won, alike by men suffering from too much, too little, or no food at all. Wars and their eventualities depend, not so much on foods as on civil, religious, and politico-economical conditions. The medical and scientific world of today seems to be well satisfied (1) that while man, by structure and development, is omnivorous, there is too much animal food consumed by the average individual, particularly in large centers of population. ”

“ Naturally, therefore, the physical effects of abortion will depend in direct ratio on the causation thereof, and the comparative malignity or benignity of such causation. In any case, abortion is fraught with serious consequences, direct and indirect; and is a sad miscarriage of nature's plan, greatly to be deplored, and earnestly, strenuously, and conscientiously to be avoided. ”

“ Abstinence, that there is not the slightest danger of any physical ills accruing to those to whom these laws apply. On the contrary, it is abundantly demonstrated by the highest scientific authority that temporary Abstinence from solid food—particularly flesh food, in which there is a great proportion of waste material, and consequently, increased wear and tear on the organs of excretion, such as the lungs, liver, and kidneys—is greatly to be desired in all persons, but particularly in those suffering from acute infectious and inflammatory diseases. ”

“ When nature, from what cause soever, produces the abortion, some women die, and most have troubles of greater or less gravity left over; when abortion results from criminal interference, a large proportion of women dies, and all are more or less maimed for life. ”

“ Granting, therefore, that flesh food in some form is necessary for the human race as a whole, what are the physical effects of partial Abstinence therefrom? These effects are as numerous and divergent as the causes. We have first, the family history of the individual (diseases or tendencies inherited or acquired) ; second, age; third, personal history of the individual (diseases or tendencies inherited or acquired) , natural or artificial infantile feeding; fourth, education and environment ”

“ Those who lead a physically active life, like the manual labourer, seem to need animal food more continuously and feel its temporary withdrawal more acutely than the sedentary or brain worker. Here, also, the important element is the personal equation. ”

“ That over-feeding—particularly with strong, meaty foods—together with lack of proper muscular exercise have much to do with the question of so-called "race suicide". This last suggestion arises from the well known analogy between the reproductive processes in human and brute animals. Too much and too rich food combined with physical inactivity has a tendency to replace (by a process of degeneration) the muscular fibres of the reproductive organs by fat cells, and hence render such organs either sterile or incapable of carrying a pregnancy to term. ”

“ That owing to this large consumption of food, which has an amount of waste out of proportion to its nutritive value, the vital organs are overtaxed in their excretory functions, and that consequently, human life and usefulness is very frequently curtailed. ”

“ To understand the physical effects of abortion we must know something of the causes, which are in the main the same as the causes of miscarriage and premature delivery. Abortion may be due to pathological changes in the ovum, the uterus, or its adnexa—one or both ”

“ Hegar reckoned one abortion to every eight full-term deliveries. Lusk, Marsais, Siebold, Gallard, and other equally prominent but more modern obstetricians and gynæcologists present about the same testimony. From criminal abortion death is very frequent. To tear out the living products of conception by the roots is, in most cases, to give the pregnant woman gratuitous transportation for eternity. Tardieu alone records seventy women who died out of one hundred cases. Even in spontaneous cases, as we have seen, death may occur from hæmorrhage, shock, peritonitis, septicæmia, etc. ”

“ If complete, the danger is principally from shock and haemorrhage; if incomplete and any debris remains, there is danger of septicæmia, uræmia, endometritis, perimetritis, diseases of the tubes, ovaries, bladder, cervix uteri, vaginal canal, and rectum; together with catarrhal discharges from one or more of these parts, displacements, impoverished blood supply, various neuroses, and usually a long and expensive convalescence.
The retention of the dead fetus is not always so dangerous. ”

“ From 1867 to 1875 the Bureau of Vital Statistics of New York reported 197 deaths from abortion, but admitted that the Department believed that number to fall far short of the truth. In the thirty years since then, obstetrical science has made many and important advances in ætiology, pathology and treatment; but abortions from one cause or another continue in abundance ”

“ That women bear Abstinence better than men, because as a rule the former have greater development of fatty and less development of muscular tissue; (b) that mature age bears deprivation of customary food better than youth or old age ”