ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION
SIR,—In his latest letter I am glad to see that Sir Angus Watson has abandoned the irrational attitude which was my main objection to his previous presentation of .his case. Of course, A.I.D. is unnatural in the sense of being contrary to usual practice, but so is flying. Sir Angus asks about my attitude to human life. I can only reply that I believe man to be the maker of his own purposes: it follows from this that the same action may be " good " at one time and not at another. It is in this light that I view the question of A.I.D.
It is surely clear that the practice will be utilised extremely rarely, and the social problems it .raises are merely concerned with the provision of safeguards to prevent its abuse. It is also clear that some degree of regulation is called for in determining the cases in which A.I.D. shall be allowed to take place at all. May I put it to Sir Angus that human happiness is best served in this matter by determining the framework within which this new example of man's control over Nature shall be operated. After all, control over Nature is not the same as breaking her commands ; it is in the power of utilising these laws to our own advantage that we find the possibilities of the fuller life made practicable by science. Blanket prohibition is reactionary in the extreme ; sympathetic administra-
tion is what is needed.—Yours, etc., J. HENDERSON. 154 Bishopsgate, E.C.2.
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