John Billings , KC*SG (5 March 1918 – 1 April 2007) and his wife, Evelyn Livingston Billings , DCSG (née Thomas; 8 February 191816 February 2013), were

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n physicians who pioneered the natural method of

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 ...

known initially as the Ovulation Method, then the Ovulation Method Billings, specified by the

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in 1978 and finally as the Billings Ovulation Method.

Biography

John Billings was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and was educated at

Xavier College Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878. ...

, and at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

where he received his

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

degree. In 1953, he began work on a method of

natural family planning Natural family planning (NFP) comprises the family planning methods approved by the Catholic Church and some Protestant denominations for both achieving and postponing or avoiding pregnancy. In accordance with the Church's teachings regarding s ...

, involving observation of several indicators of fertility and infertility, gradually focusing on the changes to cervical mucus patterns of sensation. His wife, Evelyn, became involved from 1963. The couple founded the World Organisation of the Ovulation Method Billings (WOOMB) as the body responsible for teaching the method throughout the world. Although Billings maintained his career as a consulting neurologist to St Vincent's Hospital, he and his wife spent a large part of each year traveling to other countries, and training teachers in the Billings Ovulation Method, lecturing to doctors and students, and establishing teaching centers. The Method pioneered by the Billings was approved by both the

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 ...

and used by the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

. It was the only natural method accepted by the Chinese Government.

Honours

In 1969, John Billings was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Order of St Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great ( la, Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni; it, Ordine di San Gregorio Magno) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of ...

(KCSG) by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

. In 2003,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

added a star to this papal knighthood (KC*SG). He was also made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 1991. In 2003, Evelyn Billings was made a Dame Commander of the Order of St Gregory the Great.

Death

John Billings died, aged 89, on 1 April 2007, at a

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aged care centre, survived by his wife, children and large extended family.
Evelyn died on 16 February 2013, aged 95, following a brief illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Billings, John and Evelyn Australian Roman Catholics Medical doctors from Melbourne Roman Catholic activists Fertility awareness People educated at Xavier College Melbourne Medical School alumni Members of the Order of Australia Knights Commander with Star of the Order of St. Gregory the Great Married couples