UN-NATURAL and

IRRATIONAL-

ol
\

NATURAL and
RATIONAL-





"HE RBVTHI^

BIRTH CONTROL
UN-NATURAL AND IRRATIONAL

or

NATURAL AND RATIONAL?

Controlling Births

Some authorities place the use of contraceptive

devices in the United States at about thirty million

a week, and the number of abortions at more than

two million a year, twice the number of births.

Is this situation wholesome?

Unnatural That abortion is a tragedy in the life

Control of a woman and that it is unnatural,

will not be disputed by many. That

the use of artificial means to prevent conception is

similarly unnatural appears from the fact that

violence is done to nature in its most fundamental

processes, namely, in the generation of a human

being. Its unnatural character appears likewise

from the harm that it causes. There is a growing

unanimity among physicians of experience to the

effect that -the habitual use of contraceptives not

infrequently causes injury to the generative or-

gans, induces cancer of the womb, brings on ster-

ility, shatters the nervous system, etc. Admissions

to that effect have been made by many advocates

of contraception. We will quote one of the fore-
most among them. Dr. van de Velde, a Dutch

gynecologist, known the world over for his writ-

ings, says : “There is no ideal contraceptive and

there never will be. By an ideal contraceptive, I un-

derstand one that will not cause any inconvenience

or disturbance, that will exclude the possibility of

doing harm to the user herself, and that is at the

same time fool-proof.” It is true that conditions

may arise when contraception, prescinding entirely
from the moral problems involved, may be the
lesser of two physical evils, but it remains an evil

just the same, and retains its unnatural character.

CONCIP CALENDAR
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Irrational In one sense, the most tragic aspect

Control of abortion and contraception is this

:

there is no need of paying the ter-

rifically high price they demand in order to obtain

the purposes intended. If there ever were irrational

procedures, abortion and contraception are such.

The spacing of births, or even preventing them alto-

gether, if circumstances make such practises advis-

able, can be obtained in a natural and, hence, in a

rational way. All this is set forth in the booklet,

— CONCiP CALENDAR *
[ 4 ]

|~HE ROVTHh]„



HE RHYTH

Natural and The Rhythm of Sterility and Fer-

Rational tility in Women: A Discussion of
Control the Physiological, Practical, and

Ethical Aspects of the Discoveries

of Drs. K. Ogino (Japan) and H. Knaus (Austria)

Regarding the Periods when Conception Is Impos-

sible and when Possible, by Leo J. Latz, A.B.,

B.S., M.D., Member of the Staffs of Loyola Uni-

versity Medical School and Alexian Brothel

Hospital, Lecturer at the St. Elizabeth Hospital

and Mercy Hospital Training Schools for Nurses,

Secretary of the Cosmas and Damian Associates,

Chicago. The booklet is published by the Latz

Foundation, a corporation not for profit, organized

to discourage the practise of contraception and abor-

tion and to reduce the evils resulting therefrom.

The Foundation invites all who are concerned at
the - harm that results from these practises, to

assist in its endeavors. A practical method of
cooperating would be to help in the judicious dis-

tribution of this pamphlet which can be had free

upon request.

The Ogino-Knaus Discoveries

The Skeptics Most readers of these lines—and
there may be many a physician

among them—will shrug their shoulders, perk their
lips in ridicule and maintain : “Ifs the bunk,

there is no such thing as a safe, natural way of
spacing births, much less, of preventing them alto-
gether, without making ‘superhuman demands' upon

husband and wife, i. e., without demanding complete

sexual abstinenceA Some of those who speak
thus are thinking of the Capellmann theory which

has been abandoned. But none of these skeptics

can be familiar with the recent discoveries, in

regard to the rhythm of sterility and fertility in

women, by the scientists Prof. Dr. K. Ogino, Chief

Attending Physician of the Gynecological Depart-

ment of the Takeyama Hospital, in Niigata, Japan,
and Prof. Dr. Hermann Knaus of the University
Women’s Clinic, Graz, Austria.

CONCIP CALENDAR

[ 5 ]



m RHYTHI
The Ogino-Knaus Theory

The Rhythm The central thought of the Ogino-
Theory Knaus theory, as explained in The

Rhythm, is this: The period of
sterility in a woman, i. e., the time when it is

impossible for her to conceive, is more than three

times as long as the period of her fertility, i. e.,

the time when she can conceive. To be specific,
a woman whose menstrual cycle is twenty-eight
days cannot conceive during twenty-two to twenty-

three days of that cycle and can conceive only

during five to six days. These days can he deter-

mined without much difficulty if the directions

given in The Rhythm are followed. In other
words : As in most of her processes, Nature ob-

serves certain periodic movements in the genera-

tion, not only of animals (these are well known

by breeders), but also of human beings and these

periodic movements are called “The Rhythm of

Sterility and Fertility.”

In the brief space of this folder, it is, of course,

impossible to give more than the main points of
the theory. For a fuller treatment the reader must

turn to The Rhythm.

Female Sexual Organs

The Father In reading what follows, the reader

Cell will find the above figure helpful.

When performing the marriage act,
the father deposits in the body of the mother (the

CONCIP CALENDAR
[ 6 ]



JHE FUdYTHI^

vagina, A) millions of minute organisms which

are called, in scientific language, spermatazoa, but

which, for our purposes, may be more easily iden-

tified by being called father cells. In structure,

the father cells resemble the larval mosquito, hav-

ing an appendage like a tail, which serves for pur-

poses of locomotion. Some enter the mouth of the

uterus (B) and passing through the uterus (C),

enter one of the Fallopian tubes (D). These tubes

are about five or six inches long and have a diam-

eter approximately the same as that of the lead in

a lead pencil.

The Mother The ovum or egg, which, for the

Cell sake of convenience, we will call the
mother cell, is prepared in one of

the ovaries (E). Every month one of these mother

cells reaches maturity, leaves its tiny room (sac),

is caught up by the fringed end (F) of one of the

Fallopian tubes, taken up into the tube (D), and

then carried forward towards the uterus (C). If

it meets a father cell and is united with it, a

human being comes into existence. This union is

called conception. The human being coming into

existence and potentially possessing all the organs

of a full grown man is very much smaller than
the period at the end of this sentence. The embryo

remains in the tube (D) for about eleven days, and

then proceeds to the uterus or womb (C) where
it fastens itself into its folds and grows, until after

nine months the phenomenon of birth takes place.

All of this seems as impossible to understand as

the mysteries of faith and is inexplicable except

on the supposition of an infinitely wise and omnip-

otent Creator.

Menstruation If the mother cell does not meet a

father cell, it dies after a few

hours, is propelled through the tube (D) into the
uterus (C) and, being dead, is expelled together

with the mucuous substance and blood that had

been stored up in the womb to serve as food and
shelter for the expected embryo. This phenomenon
is called menstruation.

CONCIP CALENDAR
m



-JHE RfcJYTHj*}-

The Heart of Menstruation is the key to
the Rhythm Theory the rhythm theory. The

^
scientific research, con-

ducted independently of one another, by the two

scientists, Dr. Ogino and Dr. Knaus, has estab-

lished the time when ovulation occurs, i. e., the

time when the mother cell breaks away from the

ovary. Together with other scientists they have

further established that the mother cell can live

only a few hours if it is not fertilized, and that

the father cell has a fecundation span of only two

days. From these three basic facts they logically

conclude that if the marriage act is performed dur-

ing the two days before, on the day of, and (under

certain circumstances) on the day following, ovula-

tion, conception will take place with physiological

inevitability. But if the marriage act is performed

at any other time, conception is impossible.

What has been said above in explanation of the
Ogino-Knaus theory may be represented by means

of

The Rhythm Graph

M—Menstruation F—Fertility
S—Sterility O—Ovulation

Application of the Rhythm Theory

How can a woman apply the rhythm theory to
her specific case? This question is answered in

detail in The Rhythm. A simplification of the
directions is offered by the Latz Foundation in the

form of a device, which, when properly adjusted,

will tell a woman at a glance the precise days when

she can conceive and the days when she cannot

conceive. The device is called Concip or Marriage

Calendar and has been approved by Prof. Doctor

Knaus as in accord with his theory.

CONCIP CALENDAR

[ 8 ]



-JHE RBYTHr^j-

The Concip or Marriage Calendar

Conditions In order to use the calendar effec-

for the Use tively a woman must know her cycles

of the accurately. It is suggested that she

Concip have an ordinary calendar handy so

Calendar that notations can easily be made on

it. Every month the precise day,

beginning with midnight, is marked, on which the

first sign of the menstrual flow made its appearance.

Short
,
Normal, The next important matter is to

Long Cycles count the exact number of days

that lie between menstruations,

beginning with the day on which the first traces of

blood appeared. The majority of women will find

that they have normal cycles, i. e., cycles ranging

between 26 and 30 days. A series of six of these
cycles may appear as follows, though, possibly,

the differences may not be quite so pronounced

:

27, 29, 28, 30, 28, 28. Some women have short
cycles, i. e., cycles ranging between 21 and 25 days,

while others have long cycles ranging between 31

and 36 days. For all of these groups calendars

can be provided. Women who have regular cycles
outside the limits of 21 and 36 days will have to

follow the directions given in The Rhythm.

Irregular When cycles are very irregular, e. g.,
Cycles 29, 37, 41, 33, 28, 38, the rhythm

theory cannot be applied. The person

concerned should continue to keep a record

of her cycles, should try to discover the cause of

CONCIP CALENDAR

[ 9 ]



-JHE RHVTHrj-

the irregularity, and, for that purpose, should con-

sult a physician. The irregularity may have been

caused by the use of contraceptives. These must

be discontinued in order to give nature a chance

to restore the normal functioning of the gen-

erative organs. As soon as regularity returns
,
that

is, as soon as the cycles do not vary beyond four

or five days, and remain within the limits of

twenty-one and thirty-six days, a calendar can be

provided and followed with assurance. This rule

applies likewise to premature and delayed men-

struation when its cause is definitely known, for

instance, emotional stress, over-exertion, sudden

change in climate, childbirths, etc. Conversely, if

extraordinary conditions develop which may cause
irregularity in menstruation, the calendar should

not be followed. The rhythm theory holds only

for normal women under normal conditions.
When placing an order for a calendar, it is neces-

sary to indicate the longest and shortest cycles that

are considered normal. Delayed or premature men-

struation may be disregarded, if extraordinary
causes can account for it.

Is the Rhythm Theory Reliable?

The Rhythm Is the theory which is explained,
Theory discussed and espoused in The
Is Safe Rhythm safe? Can it be relied

upon ?

For complete answers to these questions, the

reader must turn to The Rhythm. Here, only
a very brief summary of the arguments can be

given.

1 . The rhythm theory is vouched for by Prof.

Dr. Ogino and Prof. Dr. Knaus, two of the most

distinguished scientists of our day. They are gyne-

cologists who devote all their energies to the prob-

lems involved. It is quite apparent that these two

university professors could not afford to jeopardize

their professional standing in a matter of such

importance, and that they could not expose them-

selves to become the laughing stock of their fellow

CONC I P CALENDAR
[ 10 ]



m
scientists and of the world, by advocating and by

continuing to advocate theories for which they

lacked incontrovertible proofs, the result of care-

ful experimentation and observation.

2. The rhythm theory is the easiest of theories

to disprove

,

if it were wrong. Every fertile mar-

ried couple could furnish the refutation. More

than fifty thousand of the marriage calendars re-

ferred to above are in use and no case is on record

where it failed, provided the directions given were

followed.

3. Corroborating evidence is supplied by physi-

cians and by married people from every part of the

world. James J. Walsh, M.D., Ph. D., assures us in

The Homiletic and Pastoral Review for December,

1932:
u
The observations and experiments of Drs.

Knaus and Ogino have been rather thoroughly cor-

roborated by a number of clinical investigators, that

is, physicians in actual contact with patients in vari-

ous parts of Europe who have been devoting special
attention to the subject The Latz Foundation has

evidence and continues to collect evidence from

those who have followed directions contained in

The Rhythm or who have used the Concip Calen-
dar. Friends of the Foundation are requested to

cooperate in this direction.

4. It is well known that conception frequently

fails to result from sexual intercourse. How is this
phenomenon to be explained? It is reasonable to

assume that a condition exists among the females

of the human race similar to that among the fe-

males of animals that are similar in structure.

Among the latter there are relatively long periods
of sterility and very short periods of fertility.

Cows, for instance, have a cycle of twenty-one

days, nineteen of which are sterile. The rhythm

theory fits into the observed facts of human gener-

ation with a nicety that is surprising.

Moral Aspects of the Rhythm Theory
Is the application of the rhythm theory ethically

and morally permissible? For a complete answerTo

this all-important question, we must refer the
reader to The Rhythm.

CONCIP CALENDAR
[ 11 ]

RfcjYTiyM.



"HE RHYTHM

First of all, let it be definitely understood that

the Latz Foundation utterly repudiates the Mal-

thusian theory of over-population, that it does not

favor childless or one child families, as a general

rule. It most emphatically does not believe that

herein lies our social and economic salvation. Our

social and economic ills cannot, and must not be

remedied, even if they could, by depriving married

people of the blessings and joys of parenthood.

Ideals of the The purpose of the Latz Founda-

Latz Founda- tion is to combat contraception and
tlon abortion and to reduce the mount-

ing physical and mental misery, the

increasing moral deterioration, and the great finan-

cial losses that result therefrom.

Even more than that, it has the positive objective

to help buttress the foundation of our civilization,

the family. It hopes to make its contribution in

this direction by enabling married people to have

a happier and finer home life by bringing into the

world healthier, stronger children, with a richer

physical, emotional and mental heritage. And this

it hopes to achieve by spreading, the information

and advice contained in The Rhythm.

Dignity of Parents who will accept this guid-

Parenthood ance from the Latz Foundation will

know definitely when they are per-

forming the act which will bring into existence a

new human being, when they are cooperating with

God in the creation of one of His children. Having

that knowledge they will bring to the act the meas-

ure of reverence and devotion and love which con-

scious cooperation with the Creator spontaneously

evokes. They will prepare themselves for the act

which involves such tremendous consequences, by

avoiding all those sinister influences—such as
violent emotional excitement, excessive use of

alcohol, nicotine and drugs in general—which exert
a blighting influence upon their progeny.

CONCIP CALENDAR

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JHE RHYTHI^

Blessings of The Latz Foundation is absolutely

Parenthood convinced that children are a great

blessing to married couples from the

psychological, the physiological, the social and the

moral point of view, and that the complete objec-

tives of married life cannot be realized except

through the influence that children bring to bear

upon their parents and upon one another.

The Rhythm Theory But along with all this the
Is Ethical Latz Foundation likewise

holds that conditions of a

physiological, economic or social character some-

times develop which make it desirable, not to say

imperative, that births be spaced and, in exceptional

cases, be prevented altogether. Where such condi-

tions obtain, as is shown in The Rhythm, it is
ethical to take advantage of the rhythm of sterility

and fertility. Such a procedure is in accordance

with the laws of nature and with the dictates of

reason, hence, can be denominated “natural and

rational.”

JHE RHYTHM)

The Rhythm, we may be permitted to say in
passing, is printed with the “approbation” of the lo-

cal authorities of the Catholic Church, the most con-

sistent and persistent opponent of contraception and

abortion. Every married couple intending to make

use of the rhythm theory owes it to themselves to

read the third part of the booklet, in which the

ethical and moral aspects of the theory are dis-

cussed. Viewpoints are expressed there that will

be enlightening as well as comforting to husband

and wife, who are seeking a deeper meaning of the
functions of married life.

The Rhythm is written in a simple style that
will be easily understood by the average reader.

The booklet contains helpful illustrations, is attrac-
tively bound in blue, flexible, gold-stamped, covers,

and can be placed in a pocket or a purse. A few of
the hundreds of recommendations which it has re-

ceived follow

:

COMCIP CALENDAR
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1HE RHVTHhj -

VIEWPOINTS
Dr. Latz builds up his thesis in regard to the

rhythm of sterility and fertility in women with
inescapable logic. The Ogino-Knaus theory must

become the zvorking knowledge of every practicing

physician.

Henry Schmitz, A.M., M.D., LL.D., F.A.C.S.,
F.A.C.R., Professor and Head of the Department

of Gynecology, Loyola University School of Medi-

cine. Attending Gynecologist, Mercy and Cook

County Hospitals, etc.

The book seems so good to me and so utterly
timely that I believe steps should be taken to bring

it to the attention of all the clergy, not only in the

United States, but, throughout the world. I am
convinced that this should be done and done vigor-

ously. Very Rev. J. W. Hynes, S.J., President,
Loyola University, New Orleans, La.

One can hardly do better than quote with full

approbation the closing words of the introduction

of Father Joseph Reiner, S.J.: “No physician, no

nurse, no social worker, no clergyman can afford

to disregard the information contained in this

book.” America.

We do not know of a more potent antidote to the
contraception heresy so wide-spread today, than this

explanation and justification of what Dr. Latz

rightly calls the only rational method of birth

control. Arthur Preuss, Editor,

The Fortnightly Review.

. . . that there is a “safe period” . . . zvould

thus seem to be established. The physicians mak-

ing this declaration are . . . serious workers in the

field of gynecology and obstetrics who have had

large opportunities for observation and give their

carefully drawn conclusions in the matter.

James J. Walsh, M.D., Ph.D..

CONCIP CALENDAR
[ 14 ]



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There is nothing more charming than a

mother with her child in her arms
9
and there

is nothing more venerable than a mother among
a number of her children—Goethe.

-THE RHYTHM-

[ 16 ]