Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-10-29
PHYSICIANS URGE
BETTER MARRIAGE
AND DIVORCE LAW
Doctor Woods Sees Solution
in Adoption of Ruling of
Jesus'' - Doctor Taylor
Would Bar Wedlock to the
Unfit.

"what is needed as barrier to un-
necessary divorce in America is the
ADOPTION of the ruling of Jesus on the
matter by all the people"
This statement was made today by DR..
Matthew Woods, Of 1907 South Broad
street, noted medical practitioner and
an authority on divorce from medical
point Of view.
with the acceptance Of Christ's teach
ines," said Doctor Woods, "there would
be little need of legislation, except in
the matter of transmlssible diseases. But
sInce this seems impossible, or under
present circumstances extremely difficult,
the next best remedy would be that, since
wedlock is a natural right, to be for
fsted only by some wrong on the part
OF either contracting party, the central
government should permit every suitable
person who will substantially perform the
duties of the matrimonial relation to be
the husband or wife of another.
"This should be done by the enactment
bf Just laws, which should be uniform
throughout the United States. When the
matrimonial relation Ia entered into in
good faith and one OF the parties to 1t
no far fails in the duties involved as
practically to Illustrate It's ends, the
Government should provide some means
BY which the innocent party may be freed
from the mere legal bond of what in fact,
has ceased to be marriage. The delin-
uuent's failure should be fully established
and shown to be permanent and in no
way due to the fault of the other party,
and the delinquent should have no claim
10 be protected In second marriage.
Whether It should be permitted to him
is not a question OF right, but OF public
rxpediency.
II believe that there should be a law
making 1t crime for n clergyman or
others to marry the unfit This law ought
to be uniform in all the States"
Dr. j. Madison Taylor, of 1904 Pine
street, professor of therapeutics at Tenn
pie University, said that the United
States was sorely in need of better and
more explicit marriage and divorce laws.
1T may seem strange for doctors to
discuss questions which enter into the
domain Of religion" said Doctor Taylor,
"but believe, as some one has said, that
the world will now be saved since the
doctors have begun to preach and the
elergymen have begun to practice"
Doctor Taylor said that a great danger
to society lay in the marriage of people
unfit for parenthood.
There should be a recognized board OF
medical experts whose business 1t would
be, first and foremost, to determine Just
such points as the elements of unfltness
for parenthood, especially for the purpose
Of keeping one or other of the contracting
parties from an alliance matrimonial
which might result in adding to the
already serious burden of the unfit. In
stitutlons for the feeble-minded are filled |
with deplorable instances of these uni
regulated marriages, many of them in
volvIng people in the highest stations of |
llfe. see this in institutions with which |
] am connected.
Every child has a right to get a fair |
start In life. no matter what It's social |
position. The conspicuous instances of |
degeneracy are bad enough, but the |
milder forms, the so-called fools, are a |
vastly more serious proposition. They
are the trouble makers, the persons for
whom there Is no place in the social
scheme. only capable of the most limited
education. especially In the essential par
ticulars OF self-restraint or continuity of
right conduct.
"The trouble is that standards OF con-
servatlon, the greatest asset a community
could have, have not even begun to be
determined as yet. And that is where at
tention should be focused. The public
should be educated as to the dangers of
unfit matrimonial alliances just as 1t
has been educated in the matter of trans
missible diseases The entire matter
should be regulated by law with the as
sistance of medical experts"