American example
Sir: Alter explaining many 01 the differences in the taxation system and economic policies of the states of the USA, Mr Mark Boleat asks: "How does America survive with all of the varying policies and practices?" With respect, the problem appeared much simpler to the authors of the US Constitution than Mr Boleat. The Federalist Papers, after citing historical examples of previous unsuccessful attempts to organise states into federations conclude that "a sovereignty over sovereignties, a government over governments, a legislation for communities, as contradistinguished from individuals" will not produce unity. The EEC therefore, is just the kind of organisation of states which the Federalist Papers said was, as an attempt to produce unitY, doomed to failure, for it has no means of coercion of its own, and relies on members governments for implementation of the Treaty. If it is necessarY to coerce an individual for that purpose, the means employed are those of the member government concerned. I think that a reasonable definition of a sovereign state is one which controls all the means of coercion within its boundaries. In this sense, the USA is a sovereign state and the EEC is not, for ,lbe former has armed forces and the latter has not. More than once the US 'nlY has been used to enforce a upretne Court judgment against recalcitrant authorities. This leads me to Wonder whether either side of the shj controversy concerning our memberof the EEC is right. Memberg) of the EEC will not produce unity 's its advocates appear to think. Their 0PPonents, however, fear that at some stage our membership of this organisation will become irrevocable. the EEC has its own armed °I.ces, 1 fail to see how this is possible. D. Folkes 5 Queens Walk, Ealing, London W5 Abortion
cirri Dr Elizabeth Elliott
, I would go even further than Miss Rhys Williams in The Spectator wnen she says that mothers of unborn children are much in need of protecTf)11 just now and that they are in need
full and accurate information. poIt is is clear that very im Ph
rtant aspects of the health, both Ysical and emotional, of many girls at:c1c1 women are at risk just now, both rough ignorance and through irresPunsible propaganda directed par • -mcly at the vulnerable and immace adolescent. Take for instance the occurence in rtieieent years of cancer of the neck of w: Womb in younger and younger men. Research has shown that it is related to the frequency of sexual intercourse with different partners at an eat' age. There is a higher proportion ni this disease among clients of VD clinics and among the promiscuous and disturbed. a Although this has been documented wild Published and Professor Stalla4)rthY of Oxford brought it to public ipention in 1971, look at what the ,ePartment of Health advocated in ruactober 1973, in its memorandum on HnillY planning to the new Area ealth Authorities; — this "Health" Mstry has said that contraception s.,1.1ould be available under the NHS ,Irrespective of age." How the pur,:,e3mrs of "sexual freedom" must be 'fleeting and counting their profits! tisCine can only conclude that either DHSS does not care a damn (it -anriot plead ignorance) or else it has callous hostility to women in general. lt could of course just be exhibiting Pvragmatism and "administrative con,enience" — the perennial bureacratic 'sease. ,I:llirectives to doctors from the DHSS teknout the cancer smear test advise that usu,is should be done "over the age of iMlY-five" and only every five years. dor the DHSS this saves money but it h?es not save numbers of lives. Luckily i''isanY doctors have more compassion an the DHSS and extend the service 41,,..beyond this, as do many hospitals. DIve now see the so-called 'Health' 'ntication Council's efforts on family I5l5nning advertising (also pregnancy "dild smoking), using posters which are eeply offensive to many women (and Plen) both young and not so young, ittregnant and not pregnant. Why has isms 'Health education' been promoted r',Y, an assault and battery on the senFoilities? Are 'social class four and ‘11,;',e' presumed to have no feelings? flat an insult to them! This is a further sign of a growing `allousness about the deepest feminine se,nsitivites towards pregnancy. It is ,80 a sign of the unpleasant nihilism :nich is eroding our human responses qt the level of caring and which is also f
ire ng a dogmatic and joyless 'sexism' -,Young people, a la Martin Cole.
r nowever it is never too late to 'everse the trend. It is a blessing to see
that young people themselves are waking up to the fact of how soul-less and destructive opportunists are manipulating their personal lives. One should ask very seriously if these manipulators have their accomplices in the DHSS and the HEC and if so what can be done to prevent them promoting ill-health. Government money supports the HEC but Health Ministers take no responsibility about what is put out in their name. Now is the time to ask "Why?" Elizabeth Elliott West Walton, Wisbech, Cambs.
Sir: I write lest your readers may have been misled by a statement in Miss Rhys-Williams's letter of March 2, that "most abortions in this country are performed on unmarried girls."
In fact, about one fifth of all legal abortions in England and Wales are performed on single, widowed, divorced or separated women under twenty years of age. In each of the six years 1968 to 1973 (inclusive), the proportions were 17 per cent, 18 per cent, 20 per cent, 20 per cent, 20 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively.
Philip Kestelman 10 Carston Close, London SE12
Previous page
