Panel Disagrees On Abortion Issue

"There is a new sensibility toward abortion on the part of men." George H. Williams, Hollis Professor of Divinity, said last night at an Adams House Symposium on Abortion.

Speaking before a predominantly male audience of about 40, Williams and Dr. Mildred Jefferson, surgeon at Boston University Hospital, presented their anti-abortion views.

Dr. Jefferson emphatically asserted that the removal of a fertilized egg from the uterus at any time is the killing of a human being.

Williams likened the issue to questions of war and genocide in history. "We risk sacrificing the human question to extreme individuality," he said.

Charles P. Price '41, preacher to the University, and Margaret S. McKenna '70, consultant to the University Health Services, presented pro-abortion viewpoints.

According to Price, while abortion can be seen in a sense as a bad solution to a bad problem, in certain situations, such as rape, incest or contraceptive failure, it is the only solution.

McKenna emphasized the humanistic and personal point of view which she said was essential. In her work at UHS. McKenna counsels women considering abortions. "We are talking about real women who suffer--not purely philosophical issues," she said. She stressed the role of the male in decision making.