Evening star., 1952-03-06
They Won't Be Driven to FIuoridoton
To the Editor Of The Stor:

TO the Editor Of The Stor:
The most important factor In the
controversy over fiuoridation Of drink
ing water has scarcely been touched
upon. That is the ethical implication
Of imposing compulsory medication upon
thousands Of citizens contrary to their
religious principles and their rights Of
religious freedom.
The frst article Of the Bill Of Rights,
appended to our Constitution specifi-
cally to guarantee the rights Of mi
norities and to safeguard them against
possible intrusion upon such rights.
stated that Congress shall make no
law respecting an establishment Of re-
ligion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof" Forcing upon single indi-
vidual Of this free country any form or
degree Of medication contrary to his
religious convictions and the tenets Of
his church is q rude violation Of this
constitutional provision. and it Is evi-
dent that every Congressman who has
been party to foisting this tyranny
upon the voiceleSS and voteleSS people
of the District Of Columbia has thereby
broken his oath to support and defend
that Constitution.
It Is undeniable that neither the
State nor the Federal Government has
any right over the body Of the individ-
ual citizen so long as he does not en-
fellow citizens. Have we not a moral
and legal right to be free from service
as guinea pigs? This is an intensely
A>4 >S18vvA SSS,sxr &n~s
thing which, If adopted on q Nation
wide scale, will mean millions OF dollars
in the pockets Of chemical and equip
ment companies for years to come. II
this sort of tyranny is to be allowed.
and even supported by the lawmakers
of our land, how have the people Of
this United States any more say, ac-
tually, as to their fate than do the
hapless victims of totalitarianism? This
forcible imposition Of 'state medicine"
should be a warning Of the present
tendency toward socialization and regi-
mentation that is despotic and thor
oughly un-American.
Now what is this stuff that is des-
tined, by congressional fat and the
benign solicitude Of the medical author
tiles, supported by the fatherly interest
of our District Commissioners. to be
applied to the ultra delicate tissues Of
the human system? One Of the COM
ponents Of fiuoride is fiuorine, and fluo-
rine is described by the inventor Of
hydrocarbons as almost too vicious to
handle even in the laboratory. and GER
tainly too treacherous for any large
scale manufacturing process. The unruly
pale-yellow gas, chemical cousin OF
chlorine and iodine. would eat through
steel or brick, cause glass to vanish in
puff Of smoke. or make an incautious re-
searcher's fingernailS burst into flames"
AS DR.. Alfred Taylor of the University
of Texas stated: 1T is little difficult
to understand how this state Of complete
assurance about the matter has arisen
and in so short time. Public interest
would be best served by more cautious
attitude"
A more sensible, considered and law
full approach should be made to this
whole question, and the initiation OF
this undertaking should be indefinitely
delayed until reasonable results based
on something more substantial than
association" can be proved. from the
studies already under way, which were
intended to continue over q period Of
10 to 20 years.
II this wrong is not corrected, is It
not time that steps were taken by those
determined to preserve their constitu-
tional rights to have this matter de-
cided by the courts? But it would seem
q pity that people Of country founded
primarily on the principle Of religious
freedom should have to appeal to the
courts for protection from the near
sighted acts Of their own lawmakers.
A majority opinion handed down by
the Supreme Court in 1943 contained the
following significant statement: eff there
is any sixth star in our constitutional
constellation, 1t is that no official, high
or petty, can prescribe what shall be
orthodox in politics, nationalism, reli-
gion, or other matters of opinion, or
force citizens to confess by word or act
their faith therein. If there are any
circumstances which permit an excep-
tion, they do not now occur to u.s." It
would seem that our legislators are
assuming powers which they do not ac-
tually constitutionally possess.
Vera E. Adams.