e witness who expressed the opinion that too much had
been done in the past in the way of publishing the risks of maternity.

We feel that there are real grounds for confidence in the obstetrical
services of the Dominion and that any fear of pregnancy which does
exist would be largely removed if the public were made aware that New
Zealand now has a very low death-rate in actual childbirth, that relief
in labour is largely used, and that further developments in this
direction are continually being investigated.

(3) CONTROL OF ABORTION AMONGST THE UNMARRIED.

The evidence before the Committee indicates that, while this is not the
major problem, it is, nevertheless, an important one.

Obviously, the main cause is a looseness of the moral standard, and the
remedy must be educational.

It is not the province, nor is it within the capacity of this
Committee, to make detailed recommendations on this matter, but we
would urge upon all those concerned--the educational authorities,
religious bodies, the various youth movements and women's
organisations, and individual parents--the importance of enlightened
education of the young in the matter of sex problems.

One factor of great importance we believe to be the widespread use of
contraceptives amongst the unmarried.

It might, at first thought, seem likely that the use of contraceptives,
however reprehensible, would tend to diminish the incidence of
abortion.

But we believe that actually this is not the case: there is reason to
think that many young women, relying on undependable methods of
prevention, are tempted, and then, finding themselves in misfortune,
resort to some method of abortion.

It is our opinion that not only is immorality encouraged by the
indiscriminate sale of contraceptives, but, indirectly, criminal
abortion has increased amongst the young.

For these reasons above all we are convinced that there should be a
determined effort to suppress the indiscriminate sale of
contraceptives.

While realizing the great practical difficulties, we believe that much
could be done.

In particular, we believe that some effective measures could be devised
to control the distribution of that type of contraceptive which is
mainly used in these circumstances.

We recommend the consideration of the licensing of the importation of
certain contraceptive goods.

We urge that the sale or distribution of contraceptives should be
restricted entirely to registered p