139. Drugs.
I know personally of many mothers who have had very dreadful times of sickness all through the time, and others who have not been able to have the necessary food to strengthen them—some through having bad or careless husbands, others through shortness of work; and, I am sorry to say, those who have felt they would not carry children, some because of bad husbands, others because they felt they could not properly feed and clothe those they had. There are three who lost their lives, and another who has already had seven. These all took some kind of drug, and of course did the work they wanted it to do. The doctor felt sorry for this woman and could not blame her. She has had difficulty in rearing these seven. When she was able to get out, I saw her and talked seriously to her, but she said: “Mrs. ——, I will not have any more by him, and I should not have cared if I had died.” She loved her children, and has had months of sleepless nights with each of the seven. It seems to me, had Government awakened to its duty years ago, seeing to it that the mothers and children should have what was necessary, mothers would not have minded having the children, had they known each little one would be provided for. We should now have a stronger and healthier race of men and women. One does not wonder at the sickly boys and girls one meets in the streets, especially when one knows under what circumstances they were born, and how and what their mothers had to bear before they came.