The author surveys American statutes that criminalize dissemination of information about controlling conception, traces their historical origin, and documents how enforcement has been sporadic and impractical. She examines the legal conflation of contraceptive instruction with obscenity and with abortion, considers federal and state reform proposals from repeal to limited modification, and reviews efforts to change laws through legislation and clinics. The book evaluates criteria for sensible public policy, outlines practical consequences for families and medical practice, and supplies appendices of sources and authorities to enable informed public judgment.