Helena Rosa Wright (17 September 1887 – 21 March 1982) was an English pioneer and influential figure in
birth control
Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...
and
family planning
Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marita ...
both in Britain and internationally. With her husband she undertook missionary work in China for five years. She qualified as a
medical doctor
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
, later specialising in
contraception
Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...
medicine. Helena became renowned as an educator and also as a campaigner for government funded family planning services and became associated with international organisations promoting
population control
Population control is the practice of artificially maintaining the size of any population. It simply refers to the act of limiting the size of an animal population so that it remains manageable, as opposed to the act of protecting a species from ...
programmes. She was the author of several books and training guides on birth control,
sex education
Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...
and
sex therapy
Sex therapy is a strategy for the improvement of sexual function and treatment of sexual dysfunction. This includes sexual dysfunctions such as premature ejaculation or delayed ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, lack of sexual interest or arousal, ...
.
Family background
Helena's father,
Henryk (Henry) Loewenfeld had arrived in England from
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
, Austro-Hungarian occupied
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
in the early 1880s. Although almost penniless he soon became a wealthy businessman through a variety of ventures, including buying up rundown theatres in the
West End of London
The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...
and starting a brewery producing non-alcoholic beer in
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
when the temperance movement had taken hold. He married an English woman, Alice Evans in 1884.
Helena was born in
Tulse Hill
Tulse Hill is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in South London that sits on Brockwell Park. It is approximately five miles from Charing Cross and is bordered by Brixton, Dulwich, Herne Hill, Streatham and West Norwood.
History
The ar ...
,
Brixton
Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...
. Soon after her birth, the family were able to move into a large house, staffed by servants in
Lowndes Square
Lowndes Square is a residential garden square at the north-west end of Belgravia, London, SW1. It is formed of archetypal grand terraces of light stucco houses, cream or white. The length of the central rectangular garden is parallel with Sloane ...
,
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End.
...
, West London. Helena was initially educated at home by
governess
A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, th ...
es and attended
Princess Helena College
PHC was a co-educational independent day and boarding school for students aged 11 to 18 in Preston near Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England.
The school was housed in a Queen Anne country house, formerly known as Temple Dinsley, which was redes ...
then located in
Ealing
Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Ealing was histor ...
followed by
Cheltenham Ladies College
Cheltenham Ladies' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. Consistently ranked as one of the top all-girls' schools nationally, the school was established in 1853 to pr ...
in Gloucestershire. Her younger sister,
Margaret Lowenfeld
Margaret Frances Jane Lowenfeld (4 February 1890 – 2 February 1973) was a British pioneer of child psychology and play therapy, a medical researcher in paediatric medicine, and an author of several publications and academic papers on the study ...
, also became a doctor and was a renowned pioneer in the fields of
child psychology
Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development ...
and
psychotherapy
Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...
.
[
]
Career
Medical training and hospital surgical work
Helena had wanted to become a medical doctor from the age of six despite strong parental opposition.[ From 1908 she attended the ]London Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine for Women
The London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW) established in 1874 was the first medical school in Britain to train women as doctors. The patrons, vice-presidents, and members of the committee that supported and helped found the London School of Me ...
in Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions.
Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...
, London obtaining a MRCS (Eng.) and LRCP (Lond.) in 1914 and MB, BS (Lond.) in 1915. Later that year she started work in the outpatients department of Hampstead General Hospital
William Heath Strange (15 June 1837 – 28 February 1907) founded the Hampstead General Hospital on the site now occupied by the Royal Free Hospital.
Early life and qualifications
William was born in Devizes, Wiltshire, the youngest son of Ma ...
in Camden Town
Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...
, later transferring to the main hospital in Haverstock Hill
Haverstock is an area of the London Borough of Camden: specifically the east of Belsize Park, north of Chalk Farm and west of Kentish Town. It is centred on Queens Crescent and Malden Road. Gospel Oak is to the north, Camden Town to the south. ...
as house surgeon. However, having been reported to the police due to her foreign name, she was required to resign her job at the hospital in May 1915. After a short break she took up an appointment as a house surgeon at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street. Meanwhile, she was active in the Student Christian Movement and was a member of the London Inter-Faculty Christian Union and had declared herself a pacifist
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
. Her beliefs precluded her from joining the Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...
but she worked as a civilian junior surgeon under military supervision at the Bethnal Green Hospital in east London.[
]
Missionary work
Even before their marriage both Helen and her husband Peter discussed their shared vocation to become student missionary volunteers in China. In October 1921 she fulfilled her ambition by taking up the position of associate professor of gynaecology[ at the Shandong Christian University, now part of Shandong Medical University in ]Tsinan
Jinan (), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Tsinan, is the Capital (political), capital of Shandong province in East China, Eastern China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is the second-largest city i ...
. Helena and Peter had intended this missionary work to continue for the rest of their lives. However, in the event it came to an end after five years when the missionary work was halted due to increasing hostilities and the imminent arrival of the Nationalists
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
. After their visit to England in March 1927 they were unable to return.[ Despite this, Helena recorded her experiences in China as 'a complete fulfilment of all I expected and more'.][Evens, Barbara (1984) Freedom To Choose – The Life and Work of Dr Helena Wright, Pioneer in Contraception, London : The Bodley Head, ]
Pioneer in birth control and sex education
On her return after five years in China, Helena had become convinced her future vocation lay in enhancing the status of contraception medicine. She first sought out Marie Stopes
Marie Charlotte Carmichael Stopes (15 October 1880 – 2 October 1958) was a British author, palaeobotanist and campaigner for eugenics and women's rights. She made significant contributions to plant palaeontology and coal classification, ...
whom by chance she had met in 1918, during a holiday at Lands End
Land's End ( kw, Penn an Wlas or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is ...
in Cornwall. Marie had mentioned her plans to open a birth control clinic in England, the first of its kind. By 1921, Marie had opened the Mothers' Clinic for Constructive Birth Control in Holloway, north London and then a second clinic in Walworth
Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross.
Major streets in Walworth include the Old ...
, south London which Helena visited. Helena discovered Marie had been badly affected by losing a protracted libel action she had initiated against the Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. In Helena's view this had left Marie bitter, bordering on paranoia, as well as resentful towards the medical profession, almost exclusively male at the time, which had been opposed to her views that women should receive birth control advice from trained nurses rather than doctors. This approach was also at odds with Helena's own views.[
This experience contrasted with Helena's visit to the Women's Centre in North Kensington where she met its founder the social reformer, ]Margery Spring Rice
Margery Spring Rice (10 June 1887 – 21 April 1970) was a British social reformer. She was Secretary of the League of Nations Society and a founding member of the National Birth Control Association (later Family Planning Association). She auth ...
. Helena was able to persuade Margery that contraceptive advice should be given by specially trained gynaecologist
Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with ...
s. Margery offered Helena the job of Chief Medical Officer at the Kensington Centre, a role which she continued in for thirty years becoming also Chairman of the Medical Committee. Working in collaboration with Margery, Helena was able to ensure the Centre became a focus for training medical students and nurses in birth control, sex education and therapy which also gave Helena an international reputation. In 1930 Helena addressed the Lambeth Conference
The Lambeth Conference is a decennial assembly of bishops of the Anglican Communion convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The first such conference took place at Lambeth in 1867.
As the Anglican Communion is an international association ...
, persuading bishops
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
of the Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
to give their blessing to the use of contraceptives in marriage.[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography – Helena Rosa Wright]
/ref>
Helena was paid just £2 per weekly session in 1928 for her work at the Kensington Centre. For income Helena relied on family money and in due course a private gynaecological practice she was building, temporarily based at her sister Margaret's consulting rooms prior to Helena and Peter being able to set up separate consulting practices in Weymouth Street
Weymouth Street lies in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster and connects Marylebone High Street with Great Portland Street. The area was developed in the late 18th century by Henrietta Cavendish Holles and her husband Edward Ha ...
, premises which she continued to occupy throughout her career.[
]
Educator and campaigner
By 1931 there were at least five independent birth control clinics in the UK. The National Birth Rate Commission noted that each used their own techniques and equipment and there was little gathering of research or sharing of scientific knowledge. Following protracted discussions agreement was reached on establishing a single co-ordinating body on which the leading birth control practitioners would sit. Marie Stopes had continued her public hostilities towards both the Catholic Church and the medical fraternity and she was initially going to be excluded on grounds that she did not have medical qualifications. However Helena secured Marie's involvement in return for agreeing to her own participation on the co-ordinating committee and to 'manage' Stopes. The National Birth Control Association (NBCA) was formed which in turn evolved into the Family Planning Association
FPA (Family Planning Association) was a UK registered charity (number 250187) working to enable people to make informed choices about sex and to enjoy sexual health. It was the national affiliate for the International Planned Parenthood Federat ...
(FPA) in 1939. Despite Helena's best efforts, Marie Stopes' participation in the national association survived only until 1933 when she resigned from the executive committee having found her opinions on contraception increasingly ignored.
After obtaining charitable status for the NBCA in 1931, Helena worked with the medical committee which she now chaired to establish standards in the use of contraceptive devices and the safety of procedures and medicines. In the latter case, the NBCA went on to sponsor the development and licensing of proprietary medicines for distribution to birth control clinics.
From 1936 Helena established the first curriculum for contraceptive medicine at her North Kensington clinic. She also started to teach at the British Postgraduate Medical School
The Royal Postgraduate Medical School (RPMS) was an independent medical school, based primarily at Hammersmith Hospital in west London. In 1988, the school merged with the Institute of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, and in 1997 became part of Imperial ...
at Hammersmith
Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.
...
, the first medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...
in Britain to include lectures in contraception for trainee doctors. The numbers of women pursuing the advice and completing courses of treatment had also increased. The term sex therapist
Sex therapy is a strategy for the improvement of sexual function and treatment of sexual dysfunction. This includes sexual dysfunctions such as premature ejaculation or delayed ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, lack of sexual interest or arousal, ...
was not in use in the 1930s, however; in retrospect Helena is described as one of the early British practitioners. This phase of her career is also marked by the publication of the short handbook ''Birth Control: Advice on Family Spacing and healthy Sex Life'' and her 1930 book, ''The Sex Factor in Marriage'', which focussed on dispelling ignorance about sexual relations.[Gale Literary Resources – Helena Wright]
Accessed 28 August 2010
The Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
brought a rapid decline in FPA activity. Helena continued to work at her clinic but became concerned for the women who had enlisted and needed help due to pregnancy. She failed to persuade the War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
that the FPA should train medics but was able to offer her own support and a place to stay for women who became pregnant. After the war, the National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
failed to ensure family planning was included within the plans for health services provision which led to the FPA running virtually all birth control clinics and pregnancy diagnosis laboratories. Helena continued to experience opposition to the work of the FPA and resistance to her approach to birth control in many quarters well into the 1950s. However, in 1955 she was instrumental in obtaining the surprise support for the FPA from Iain Macleod
Iain Norman Macleod (11 November 1913 – 20 July 1970) was a British Conservative Party politician and government minister.
A playboy and professional bridge player in his twenties, after war service Macleod worked for the Conservative Researc ...
, the then UK Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services.
Some governments have separate ministers for mental health.
Coun ...
. This initiative was seen as a watershed in public opinion towards birth control and contraception. However, the fundamental change in public policy towards a government-sponsored family planning services in the UK had to wait until the 1974 reorganisation of the NHS when responsibilities for family planning were handed over to local health authorities.[
]
International work
During the late 1940s Helena became more and more frustrated by the FPA's 'introverted' attitude towards encouraging good practice and raising standards of family planning and strived for the FPA to adopt a more international perspective. Together with Margaret Pyke
Margaret Amy Pyke (née Chubb; 1893–1966) was a British family planning activist and pioneer. A founding member of the British National Birth Control Committee (NBCC), later known as the Family Planning Association (FPA), she succeeded Lady ...
, a fellow pioneer in family planning, an international conference of family planning institutions from around the world was organised in Cheltenham
Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
, Gloucestershire in 1948 at which plans were made for a new international organisation. Helena worked closely with others, including Margaret Sanger
Margaret Higgins Sanger (born Margaret Louise Higgins; September 14, 1879September 6, 1966), also known as Margaret Sanger Slee, was an American birth control activist, sex educator, writer, and nurse. Sanger popularized the term "birth control ...
, the American birth control campaigner, to promote the development of family planning programmes on a worldwide basis. This culminated in 1952 with the inauguration of the International Planned Parenthood Federation
The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is a global non-governmental organisation with the broad aims of promoting sexual and reproductive health, and advocating the right of individuals to make their own choices in family p ...
(IPPF). She retired from the FPA in 1957 but continued in private practice and to train foreign physician students in family-planning practices. Her 1968 book, ''Sex and Society'', was described as "pioneering" through its promotion of voluntary fertility and the impact of this on society.[
She travelled extensively, teaching and lecturing on family planning. Her last visit was to ]India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
in 1976.
Semi retirement
In 1975, at the age of 88, Helena handed over her private consulting practice in Weymouth Street
Weymouth Street lies in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster and connects Marylebone High Street with Great Portland Street. The area was developed in the late 18th century by Henrietta Cavendish Holles and her husband Edward Ha ...
to her successor. She continued to support the work of the IPPF, travelling abroad to conferences and to lecture including, for example, a visit to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
in 1974 at the age of 87. She remained active into her 93rd year, travelling to FPA events in the UK, meeting IPPF delegates from abroad and being interviewed on the BBC.[
]
Personal Family life
In May 1916, while at Bethnal Green Hospital, she met Captain Henry Wardel Snarey Wright whom she always called ''Peter''. He was a RAMC
The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...
surgeon whom she married at the Savoy Chapel
The King's Chapel of St John the Baptist in the Precinct of the Savoy, also known as the King's Chapel of the Savoy, is a church in the City of Westminster, London. Facing it are 111 Strand, the Savoy Hotel, the Institution of Engineering and Te ...
in the Strand
Strand may refer to:
Topography
*The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a:
** Beach
** Shoreline
*Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida
Places Africa
*Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa
* Strand Street, ...
, London on 17 August 1917. Their first son Beric Wright, who in time was also to become a renowned doctor, was born on 17 June 1918. Christopher Wright, their second son was born on 18 October 1920 just a year before their departure to China. Their third son, Michael, (10 April 1923), and fourth son Adrian, (6 September 1926), were both born during their time at Tsinan.[
Helen and Peter's work was not financially well rewarded, at least initially, and in the period following their return to England they found it a struggle to sustain a lifestyle at the level they had both been used to. Helena had access to money from her mother's estate but they were also committed to supporting the private education of their four boys who all presented their parents and teachers with problems and challenges. By 1955, the surprise success of Helena's book, ''The Sex Factor in Marriage'', particularly in the US, provided much needed income to meet the rising costs of their larger house in London. In 1962 her second son, Christopher died suddenly while being treated for depression. Helena had already developed an interest in ]astrology
Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...
and the paranormal
Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...
.[ She thought Christopher had strong ]extrasensory perception
Extrasensory perception or ESP, also called sixth sense, is a claimed paranormal ability pertaining to reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses, but sensed with the mind. The term was adopted by Duke Universi ...
and at the time of his death her conviction in attending séances was reinforced as she reported receiving a 'message' from him and other deceased friends of hers. Helena also became an advocate of alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...
in the latter part of her career.
In 1962 Helena also bought Brudenell House, a former rectory in Quainton
Quainton (formerly Quainton Malet)Plea rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; National Archives; CP 40/647; 7th entry, with "North" in the margin; the defendant, Richard Longe is of Quenton Malet is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, E ...
, Oxfordshire. This was a weekend retreat for Helena and her close friend Bruce McFarlane
Kenneth Bruce McFarlane, Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (18 October 1903 – 16 July 1966) was one of the 20th century's most influential historians of late Mediæval Britain, medieval England.
Life
McFarlane was born on 18 October 1903, the ...
the medieval historian
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
based nearby at Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
. Helena had first met Bruce at Oxford in 1930 when he advised on her son Christopher's troubled education. He soon became a family friend and regular guest of the Wrights. During their marriage both Helena and Peter had relationships with several other people and in her professional role she was encouraging to those patients who consulted her about their extra-marital relationships. The architect Oliver Hill was one with whom she had an affair.[ Helena's long-standing relationship with Bruce was known openly by family and friends. In 1952 Bruce dedicated his book on ]John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, Catholic priest, and a seminary professor at the University of O ...
to Helena and on his death in 1966, while on a picnic with Helena, he left all his possessions to her and made Peter his executor.[
Peter Wright died in May 1976. Helena died, age 95 in 1982 and was buried along with her sister, Margaret and alongside her cousin, Günther's wife, Claire Loewenfeld at the Church of St Lawrence, ]Cholesbury
Cholesbury (recorded as Chelwardisbyry in the 13th century) is a village in Buckinghamshire, England, on the border with Hertfordshire. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, about east of Wendover, north of Chesham and from Berkhamsted.
Ch ...
, Buckinghamshire. Another cousin, Ralph Beyer
Ralph Alexander Beyer (6 April 1921 – 13 February 2008) was a German letter-cutter, sculptor and teacher. He was most noted for his work on Basil Spence's new Coventry Cathedral where Beyer carved ''Tablets of the Words''. , who worked with Basil Spence
Sir Basil Urwin Spence, (13 August 1907 – 19 November 1976) was a Scottish architect, most notably associated with Coventry Cathedral in England and the Beehive in New Zealand, but also responsible for numerous other buildings in the Moderni ...
designing and carving the 'Tablets of the Words' at Coventry Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The curren ...
, carved the inscriptions on the tombstones.[
]
Controversies
Third-party adoptions
In the 1940s Helena publicly expressed her support for abortion, which she made no secret that she would arrange. In 1947 her views brought her to the attention of the police.[ Around 1957 Helena initiated 'third party' adoptions by bringing together childless couples with mothers seeking abortions or being unable to look after their newborn children. Although her actions were frowned on by local authority social workers who wanted her activities stopped they were deemed legal under the Adoption Act 1957. However, Helena was frequently frustrated by the convoluted rules and in ignoring these, from time to time, she faced both sanction from the authorities and in 1968 faced criminal prosecution. She pleaded guilty but was given an absolute discharge.][
]
Eugenics
In common with a number of her colleagues who were involved in birth control during the period between 1930 and 1960, Helena was a member of the British Eugenics Society
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
.
Ref to membership of the BES www.eugenics-watch.com Retrieved 2009 04 20
Bibliography
Books by Helena Wright
* ''Birth Control: Advice on Family Spacing and Healthy Sex Life'', London: Cassell and Co, 1935
* ''The Sex Factor in Marriage: A Book for hose who are or are about to be married'', New York: The Vanguard Press
The Vanguard Press (1926–1988) was a United States publishing house established with a $100,000 grant from the left wing American Fund for Public Service, better known as the Garland Fund. Throughout the 1920s, Vanguard Press issued an array o ...
, 1938
* ''More about the Sex Factor in Marriage'', London: Williams and Norgate, 1947
* ''What is Sex?'' London: Williams and Norgate, 1947
* ''An Outline for Young People; Birth Control'', London: Benn, 1962
* ''Sex and Society: New Code for Social Behaviour'', London: Allen & Unwin, 1968,
Books by Helena Wright and others
* ''Contraceptive technique: a handbook for medical practitioners and senior students'' (with Beric Wright). London: Churchill 1951
References
Further reading
* Evens, Barbara (1984). ''Freedom To Choose: The Life and Work of Dr Helena Wright, Pioneer in Contraception'', London: The Bodley Head,
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography – Helena Rosa Wright
Retrieved 20 June 2009
External links
* Th
Personal Papers of Helena Rosa Wright
are available for study at the Wellcome Collection.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Helena, Rosa
1887 births
1982 deaths
British people of Polish descent
British people of Polish-Jewish descent
British birth control activists
English Protestant missionaries
Protestant missionaries in China
Female Christian missionaries
English eugenicists
Alumni of the London School of Medicine for Women
English women medical doctors
Christian medical missionaries