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OE Companion Discussion Group

"When I have nothing to reproach myself with in my very own conscience, and should, at the identical time, set myself in opposition to the judgment of the world, I undergo very much. The regulation must, in fact, correspond with public opinion; but it should not be in harmony with the erroneous opinion of ignorance, however only in accord with the concepts of the very best and most scientific thinkers,-not with the want and prejudice of the vulgar. The passing by means of the House of Commons this 12 months, by an unlimited majority, of an Act of Parliament to make it harder for the White Slave trader to carry on his infamous work of entrapping younger girls for immoral functions, and inflicting heavy penalties, together with the lash, upon every one convicted of a primary offence of this type, is evidence of a fast advance in public opinion towards this class of crime, which could also be as a result of strenuous and devoted work of Mrs Josephine Butler and her associates. Girls who take progestin-only pills are 120% more doubtless. By these Acts of Parliament, known because the Contagious Diseases Acts, which were passed in 1866 and 1869, the authorities had been empowered to imprison any of these women who refused to undergo an examination as to their physical situation.