STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

STANFORD MEDICAL CENTER
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA 94304

DEPARTMENT OF GENETICS October 21, 1968 Area Code 415
321-1200

Mr. Morton Mintz
The Washington Fost
Washington, D. C. 20005

Dear Mr. Mintz:

In a certain sense you are nit-picking, since I believe I made it perfectly
clear what the main point of my article concerned. However, I will stand
by the side remarks that yo. question.

1. "Safety in preventing pregnancy". The difference in our two points of
view is that I regard it important that a contraceptive work, and you seen
to be quite indifferent to that consideration. From the point of view of
preventing an unwanted birth, and,in the particular context of this article,
the possibility of a chromosome anomaly, the issue of preventing pregnancy

is clearly one of safety J I believe my language was quite explicit on this
point.

-ZLNIW

2. Both intentionally and not, as you ought well to know, water is used as

a spermicide. From the point of view of potential hazard to the sperm nucleus,
I would argue, but only on very theoretical grounds, that water might be con-
siderably more injurious than sulphuric acid. My concern is that water might
still leave an injured sperm viable and capable of fertilization.

However, it is obvious I still have not made my main point clear’ I this
area as in many others, there are many commonplace practices that deserve the
same level of statistical scrutiny as we all agree must be applied to drugs.

I am solidly behind the substance of your efforts to insist on this kind of

scrutiny, but I must admit that I find your style in doing it at least as
irritating as you find mine.

Sincerely yours,

C TT bocce Ro. q

* Joshua Lederberg '
Professor of Genetics

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