Evander Luther

Joan Malleson Evander Luther

Publisher Marketing: Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Joan Graeme Malleson, n e Billson; 4 June 1899 - 14 May 1956) was an English physician, specialist in contraception and prominent advocate of the legalisation of abortion. Joan Billson was born at Ulverscroft, Leicestershire. She was educated at Bedales School, where she became Head Girl, and studied medicine at University College, London from 1918, later moving to Charing Cross Hospital due to the hostility to female students she experienced at UCL. In 1923 she married the actor Miles Malleson. She qualified in 1926 and worked for Holborn Borough Council and the West End Hospital for Nervous Diseases, developing an interest in the fields of fertility, reproduction and sexuality. In 1931, while working for Ealing Borough Council, she became one of the first British doctors to provide birth control advice on behalf of a local authority. In 1935 she published The Principles of Contraception, a practical guide. She became a member of the executive committee of the National Birth Control Association (later the Family Planning Association). She courted controversy by supporting the campaign to reform the abortion law.