The House Without Children (1919)

Richard Walker longs for a son, but his wife Margaret argues for birth control. They live with Richard's sister Florence, Margaret's cousin Jim, and Richard's secretary Lawrence Branford, who is in love with Florence. After Richard and Jim leave for a year on an engineering project, Florence confesses to Margaret that she is pregnant with Jim's child. Margaret's recommendation of an abortion is unacceptable to Florence, so after the birth, Margaret passes the sickly child off as her own to protect Jim and Florence, and to please Richard, who is elated when he returns. After Jim learns that Florence is about to inherit a fortune, he proposes, but when she discovers the reason, she confesses that the child is theirs. Richard upbraids Margaret for being a "modern woman" whose aversion to motherhood is criminal. After Jack leaves and the baby dies, Richard, seeing that Margaret's maternal instinct has been sparked, forgives her, and Florence marries Lawrence.