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Bureau for Contraceptive Advice in Baltimore

After some informal discussions among colleagues at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Hygiene a Bureau for Contraceptive Advice in Baltimore, they formed a Bureau to discuss "the medical, social, and biological problems presented by the widespread and growing practice of contraception in the population demanded a more rigorous and precise type of scientific information than had come." (pg xi). These colleagues whom were mostly men and led by John Whitridge Williams was created to "deman[d] a more rigorous and precise type of scientific information than had come...from the activities of birth control clinics..."(p ix). They also secured the services of Dr. Bessie L. Moses as their Medical Director. who was also trained by Dr. Williams and experience in the private practice of obstetrics. This Bureau was in place for a limited time of 5 years. They served as an independent, privately run medical and research center.

The Bureau gathered 1000 cases referred by "reputable physicians because the patients needed such advice for medical reasons." At the time of its establishment, "there were practically no scientific publications concerning contraception." It was previously thought that those able to get pregnant who also had preexisting conditions such as cardiac disease "should not run the risk of pregnancy" but prevention of these pregnancies was not readily available, leading to "repeated therapeutic abortions, often with disastrous results" due to no other form of earlier medication or abortion being available. Patients regularly seeking these services would often "retur[n] to dispensaries too late in pregnancy and became progressively worse or died as a result."

Eventually 1152 Cases were collected. Demographical information was gathered on race, age, "duration of marraige," reproductive life, religion, "occupation of husbands," and income. No data was collected on gender identification and does not include information for those of single marital status seeking such abortions. This was also eventually cross-referenced with number of pregnancies, children, number of abortions, and religion of patients.

A factual summary of their findings relating to the 1152 cases were as follows:

81.9% were white and only 18.8% were black.

The average age of patients was 30.61 years with a standard deviation of 0.13 years.

Average duration of Marriage ranged between 10.3 and 12.3 years.

Average number of pregnancies was 5.59 years and the average number of children per patient was 4.72 years. Dr. Pearl had commented that these were "extremely high reproductive rates." (pg. 9)

Doctors who submitted cases relevant to this collective study included that patients were referred to abortion services in order to subvert pregnancies due to potential medical complications. These include: systemic diseases (cardiac disease, nephritic toxemias, tuberculosis, pyelitic, severe anemia, hypertension, thyroid disease, diabetes, gall bladder disease, epilepsy), mental health diagnoses (major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, disorders related to learning challenges not properly defined at the time of research). gynecological (recent pelvic repair, fistulas, extreme lacerations, past repeated abortions, adnexal tumors), orthopedic and surgical (tuberculosis of spine or hip, osteomyelitis, fractured pelvis, recent operation, a removed or missing kidney, and kidney stones), and venereal diseases (gonorrhea, syphilis, CNS syphilis.