Part: 12         Session: 123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536         Page 439440441442443444445446447448449450451452453454455456457458459460461462463464465466467468469470 of 1143

of the Indian Government, announced that it was the policy of the Government of India to support clinics for giving information about birth control and family planning. This great policy remained fairly academic, as I understand it, because the health officer of Indian was then a woman and a Catholic who considered the only method proper for family planning the rhythm method. This was R

In '52 Dr. Abraham Stone went to India and consulted with Indian doctors and gave them such information as he had about the rhythm method, which was not very accurate. In the spring of 1953 Lady Rama Rau of Bombay and Margaret Sanger and other leaders went to a Population Conference in Bombay, to which about 400 delegates from the rest of the world came. As a result of this, there were some funds set aside by the Indian Government, about one million three hundred thousand dollars--imagine, for 350 million people I--which were to be used for the support of clinics for the teaching of the use of contraceptives.

In any case, Nehru's official attitude on the importance of planned parenthood was the first time that any head of government in the world recognized this important human need. It seems to me that this was an historical point in the movement and in the social history of the peoples of the world.

I have here a news clipping which announces this and which discusses the need in India. I think it would be useful to include this.