Abortion and contraception were illegal then but many of the women admitted they had tried douching, withdrawal or rhythm to prevent pregnancy. Some had even tried the “womb veil” or male condoms.
“My husband and I . . . believe in intercourse for its own sake — we wish it for ourselves and spiritually miss it, rather than physically, when it does not occur, because it is the highest, most sacred expression of our oneness,” wrote one woman, born in 1860.
“On the other hand, there are sometimes long periods when we are not willing to incur even a slight risk of pregnancy, and then we deny ourselves the intercourse, feeling all the time that we are losing that which keeps us closest to each other,” she said.
Another woman, who was born in 1862, told Mosher that she felt “a strong desire for children” but marriage was no more than “legalized prostitution.
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