tion. The Englisheconomist Thomas MALTHUS (1766-1834) wasthe first to warn that the population of the worldwas increasing at a faster rate than its means ofsupport. However, 19th-century reformers whoadvocated birth control as a means of controllingpopulation growth met bitter opposition both fromthe churches and from physicians. The AmericanCharles Knowlton, author of an explicit treatise oncontraception entitled The Fruits of Philosophy(1832), was prosecuted for obscenity, and similarcharges were brought against the free-thinkersAnnie BESANT and Charles Bradlaugh, whodistributed the book in Britain. Nonetheless, themovement persisted, gathering strength at the endof the century from the WOMEN'S RIGHTSMOVEMENT. In Britain and continental Europe,Malthusian leagues were formed, and the Dutchleague opened the first birth control clinic in 1881.An English clinic was started by Dr. Marie Stopes(1882-1958) in 1921. In the United States,Margaret Sanger's first clinic (1916) was closedby the police, but Sanger opened another in 1923.Her National Birth Control League, founded in1915, became the Planned Parenthood Federationof America in 1942 and then, in 1963, the PlannedParenthood-World Population organization. InGRISWOLD V. CONNECTICUT (1965) the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the last statestatute banning contraceptive use for marriedcouples, and in 1972 the Court struck downremaining legal restrictions on birth control forsingle people. The federal government begansystematically to fund family planning programs in1965. Contraceptive assistance was provided tominors without parental consent until Congressruled in 1981 that public health-service clinicsreceiving federal funds must notify parents ofminors for whom contraceptives have beenprescribed. Suits challenging the regulation havebeen upheld; the government has announced plansto appeal. Despite the wide availability ofcontraceptives and birth control information, therate of childbirth am...
