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All Sensible and Virtuous Men acknowledge that it is Evil not only to do that which causes Actual Harm, but also that which May Cause Harm, even if one may be Lucky in any given Case. It is an Evil to Sail a Fishing-Boat while Severely Drunk, even if the Fishing-Boat does not Capsize; it is an Evil to leave a Lit Candle a small distance from a Thatched Roof, even if the Flame does not Catch; it is an Evil to permit a Child to play by an Open Flame, even if the Child is not Burned.
When a Man lies with a Woman, there is a Chance that the Woman may Conceive a Child, no matter how much Care is taken to Avoid it. Some say that this may be Surely Avoided, if the man does not Spill his Seed within the Woman, or if the Man and the Woman perform Certain Acts only, or if the Woman is Very Old, or Rather Young, or has Never Lain with a Man, or is Nursing an Infant, or if the Man is very Drunk. Yet in every such Case, there are Many who have practiced such Methods and yet have Conceived a Child; therefore it can be said that there is always a Chance of Conception whenever Man and Woman lie together, though it may be Small.
To Kill that Child is certainly a Great Evil, for the Souls of Slain Children are sent to the Boneyard, where they Languish Motherless on the Ground. I have heard it said that the souls of the Slain Unborn are often formed into Great Piles of Souls, as if they were mere Rubbish, which cannot even Move or Speak. It may Fairly be said that this is a Greater Evil even than Murder, for those who are Murdered will be delivered to their Justly Deserved Afterlives, but the Unborn shall be sent Invariably to the Misery of the Boneyard.
Yet it is Not Rare for a Woman's Child to Perish before it is Born, even if the Woman does not Set Out to Kill it, or for a Child to be Born Dead. Such an Occurrence is so Common that nearly Every Person in Westcrown can surely Name a Woman who has Lost an Unborn Child without Willing it so. Through great Care and Diligence the Woman can render this Less Likely, but even the most Careful Woman may nevertheless Lose her Unborn Child.
It is therefore Invariably an Evil for a Man and a Woman to lie with each other, even if they be Married and Virtuous. For there will always be a Chance that in so doing, they shall cause a Child to Perish and be sent to the Boneyard. If they are Unlucky, they will be Judged as Murderers; if they are Lucky, they shall merely be Judged as those who Risked Murder for their own Pleasure. Therefore all Men or Women who desire to be Good should Never lie with each other, both for the sake of their Unborn Children, and for the sake of their Own Souls.