Evening star., 1962-09-20

ported by private funds.
when it is borne In mind
that one-third of the fami-
lies in the county apparently
live on incomes below $4,000
a year, some receiving as little
as $125 a month. or less, it
becomes a matter Of wonder
ment what level of poverty
must be met before O family
becomes eligible for public
assistance.) The direct i'm
pact Of the program may in
deed be negligible today but,
in view of the large number
Of families living on the
margin of subSistence-"med-
ically INDECENT" no doubt =
1t becomes evident that the
potential effect Of an ex-
panding practice Of steriliza-
ton may be substantial, a
very real form of preventive
medicine" in other than the
usual usage Of that term.
Prudence and charity die
tate caution in the assess.
ment of peoples motivation,
especially since the best of
us often act from mixed mo-
tiveS. But true charity also
requires that serious moral
error be identified so that 1t
may be corrected. This Is
what Archbishop O'Boyle has
done. There is evidence to
support his position, how
ever others may interpret it;
nor is he alone in his judg-
ment. as editorial comment
by the press, radio and tele-
vision make clear. The Stars
Characterization Of his eval-
uation Of the evidence Is
therefore q reflection on his
integrity and sense of re-
sponsibility. and itself "gra-
tuitous" and 'undeserved."
Leonard f. Cain.
Sterilization is mutilation
Of the body. The principles
concerned in this matter are
not merely derived from
Roman Catholic law. AS
truly as the inanimate OBJ
jects Of pure science behave
in accordance with well
known physical laws, so do
biological creatures follow
the laws of nature. Man
and woman are the highest
prototype Of biological crea-
lures and by their very exist
ence are subject to natural
laws. Moral laws haver'as
their objective the further
ance Of the natural law. All
religions have. as an essen
tial reason for their exist
ence. the mission to teach
the moral law. A good act
conforms to legitimately es-
tablished order. A bad act
tends to disturb that order.
Accordingly mutilation Of
the human body is permis-
sible only when its purpose
Is to preserve the life of the
body as q whole.
James J. Foster, M. d.
To those who so strongly
oppose the right" of Arch
bishop O,Boyle to criticize
officials Of Fauquier County,
let me pose Q question or
two.
Suppose Fauquier County
were conducting q gambling
program at a county-sup-
ported recreation center.
Would these same people
deny a Protestant clergyman
the right to object to a
practice he considers inn
moral - perhaps on the
grounds that the center's
patrons were gambling quite
voluntarily. and furthermore
were all Catholics?
Or suppose the county were
distributing marijuana and
heroin in its medical clinic,
in an effort to make poverty
stricken lives more bearable.
Its medically INDECENT pa
tients might declare them
selves completely satisfied
with this treatment. Would
these same people deny the
right" Of Q Protestant min
ister-or q Catholic priest
or . Jewish rabbi-to object
to this, on the ground that
what people want cannot be
bad for them?
No, one cannot tell the
churchman to keep out of
everyday human affairs.
Julia B. Lowell
Fauquier County is one Of
the show places Of Northern
Virginia. The beautiful roll
ing hills are often divided by
white fences setting off pas
ture from pasture or lining
the drive up to the mansion
house on the hill. The lush
pastures and well organized
hunts make 1t a flourishing