This presentation examines the effects of the contraceptive technology known as the Ogino-Knaus or rhythm method on the debate about contraceptives and law in early twentieth-century America. In 1924, the Japanese gynecologist Kyusaku Ogino presented his theory on the timing of ovulation. This was immediately applied as the Ogino-Knaus/rhythm method of contraception, in which knowledge of the time of ovulation is supposed to enable avoidance of conception through abstinence. In a sense, women’s calendars were redefined as contraceptives. As the pope was deemed to have allowed use of the method, Catholics quickly welcomed it. The American Catholic doctor Leo Latz published a book on Ogino’s theory and introduced a contraceptive calendar. Latz’s calendars were then circulated, effectively sidestepping the Comstock Act, which banned the distribution of contraceptives through the mail. Birth Control League of Massachusetts, which fought against the Comstock Act and the related Massachusetts state law, appeared embarrassed by the situation at first, but then they sought to turn it to their advantage. Thus, the Ogino-Knaus/rhythm method acted as a stepping stone to attacking the restrictive laws.
