LETTERS

THE NEW SCIENCE OF MAKING BABIES

"This hoopla over the McCaughey septuplets is beyond me. It was bad enough to keep women barefoot and pregnant. Now they have litters." JOY DUSINI Gig Harbor, Wash.

Here's to the miracle birth of the McCaughey septuplets in Iowa [SPECIAL REPORT, Dec. 1]! Everyone should have seven kids. Go for it! CHRISTEL VANE Hove, England

I wish the McCaugheys the best of everything for their family. Unfortunately, their children may face adulthood in a world fraught with ecological disaster because of overpopulation. There are so many humans that we are crowding out other species and changing the biosphere of the planet. It is time we all lived responsibly, with our children's future in mind. Otherwise, there may not be much of a world for our children or the septuplets to enjoy. LARRY MURPHY Provincetown, Mass.

I hope America lets the McCaugheys rear their children in peace, with the help of their friends and family. The couple's rock-solid faith probably did as much as anything else to help those seven babies make it. The parents are going to be overwhelmed at times, and the last thing they need is a media circus. PAUL A. FREITAG Cheverly, Md.

The only thing more sickening than the media's excessive coverage of the McCaughey septuplets is the all too obvious attempt by publicity-seeking "gift givers." Where are these companies when an underprivileged mother gives birth to her seventh child? Where are they when new parents can't afford to pay for the necessities? DONALD ROBINSON Lawrenceville, Pa.

Fertility clinics are probably racing to help turn out the first octuplets. Do we really need this? LINCOLN HAYNES Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.

The new revolution in making babies with the aid of fertility drugs and other breakthrough innovations is, sadly, leaving behind millions of babies who need homes: the unadopted children of the world. Child-rights attorney Andrew Vachss wrote, "Biology does not make a man a father--nor a woman a mother. We are what we do." Biology alone also does not make a child yours; you do. We know that involving science in the search for fertility is a gamble: 20% of science-enhanced births produce multiples; multiples have 12 times as great a chance of dying in infancy; and multiples who survive run a greater risk of serious health problems. Adults may be playing the odds, but children are at stake. Why spend money on fertility treatments when there are so many babies who need mothers and fathers? Giving birth to septuplets is an embarrassment. LOU BANK West Linn, Ore.

As an infertility patient, I was glad to see your very informative report. Many of the couples seeking fertility treatment, however, are doing so not because they delayed childbearing to pursue careers or just decided to wait before having a family. Most of them have been trying for years but have been unable to have a baby because their bodies are not functioning properly. Often the couples seek these treatments after many failures and after years of saving up to pay the medical costs. Yes, there is always the option of choosing to adopt, but have you tried to do it? Those who do only encounter more walls. CARMEN MORALES Pembroke Pines, Fla.

Ages ago, when my husband and I wanted to start a family, we had the Rh factor, not infertility problems, to contend with. It was a pretty big deal back then. But we wanted four kids. What to do? Simple. Have one child biologically and adopt three. Who cares whom they look like or what color they are? My kids are now 30, 28, 25 and 22. To me, they're all my flesh and blood. I've never given a second thought to the fact that some are adopted. Ups and downs? Naturally. But I'm their mom, and each one of them is the light of my life every day. LOIS ROHR Billings, Mont.

Maybe the pharmaceutical companies should turn their attention to finding a drug that could help curb the insatiable urge to breed. ROBERT K. GRONENDYKE Rohnert Park, Calif.

As a multiple-birth mother, I know what the McCaugheys are in for. I hope a few more generous folks will give the McCaugheys some very important things: free counseling when they are stressed out and overwhelmed and some weekend-getaway packages for just the two of them, so that they can spend time alone together and stay connected. The best gift for any child is a healthy and strong marriage shared by two loving parents. DIANNE NITZAHN Sherman Oaks, Calif.

If the McCaugheys were truly so religious, they would have dealt with what God gave them and maybe adopted a second child. God had nothing to do with this multiple birth; science and technology did. DRISANA WASILIUS Branchburg, N.J.

Septuplets a miracle? Consider the common marine toad. It lays 35,000 eggs at a time without benefit of Frankensteinian science--just pituitary, brain and gonadal equipment. In sheer numbers, the toad puts us to shame. Isn't it high time we acknowledge that septuplets are the result of scientific technology run amuck? With sheer numbers we relentlessly destroy our planet. JOHN E. SWISHER Key Largo, Fla.

COMING TO TERMS WITH SADDAM

Biological weapons are proliferating. They are cheap and deadly [WORLD, Dec. 1]. Anyone who uses them risks killing off nearly everyone on the planet. It is a big mistake to think Saddam Hussein is an enemy solely of the U.S. He is an enemy of the human species. He is apparently willing to risk destroying our civilization and sending us into another Dark Ages. We need a U.N. that is strong enough to prevent one country from invading another. We have a right to die of old age, not germ warfare. ROB JOHNSON Urbana, Ill.

There has been a lot of publicity surrounding the F-117 Stealth fighter, U-2 missions and the U.S. aircraft carrier groups assigned to the Middle East, but what about the squadrons of A-10 Warthogs stationed in Kuwait, only 50 miles from the Iraqi border? We have been patrolling the skies over the no-fly zone in southern Iraq--in harm's way--every day, faithfully, since late 1994. I suppose it's much more glamorous to interview the flight crews on a carrier [WORLD, Nov. 24], but the real story lies with the airmen and ground crews who spend a good portion of their service in remote desert locations. CAPTAIN ANDREW KRAWCIW 75th Fighter Squadron Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait

Your story about the variety of biological horrors ready to be launched in our direction was quite interesting. Thanks for scaring the hell out of me. EDEN GERBER Maoz-Zion, Israel

DIFFERENT FATE FOR THE U-2?

Your item on the U-2 spy plane [NOTEBOOK, Nov. 24] stated that the plane's most famous moment was when "Francis Gary Powers' U-2 was shot down by the Soviet Union" on May 1, 1960. New information suggests that the plane was not actually shot down. In October 1996, Igor Mentyukov, a Soviet pilot, told the Russian newspaper Trud that he was sent over the Urals in an unarmed Su-9 and ordered to ram Powers' U-2. According to Mentyukov, the American plane "got into the slipstream of my Su-9...it started to flip him over; his wings broke off." Moreover, because of confusion, antiaircraft missiles fired at the U-2 were mistakenly aimed at Mentyukov's fighter. At least one of these missiles destroyed another Soviet airplane. Mentyukov asserted that Soviet generals concealed these facts to avoid challenging Nikita Khrushchev's faith in the efficacy of Soviet air defenses. Had the Soviet antiaircraft missiles actually hit Powers' U-2, Mentyukov said, Powers would have been killed. STEPHEN I. SCHWARTZ, Director U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project Brookings Institution Washington

PAINTINGS AS A KIND OF FAST FOOD

As a member of the "cultural elite," I want to weigh in on the inherent quality of the art of Stephen Keene, who can finish "as many as 400 paintings" in one week [AMERICAN SCENE, Dec. 1]. I have a Ph.D. in art history, have taught at the university level, published in scholarly journals, and selected works for museum collections. When my daughter gave me a Keene painting, I happily hung it in my home based on aesthetic judgment, not sentiment. Keene uses his extraordinary palette to push the painting toward the edge of abstraction. The result is "real art" that shares the walls quite comfortably with works by such 20th century artists as Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and James Rosenquist. STEPHEN E. OSTROW Chevy Chase, Md.

Keene represents the growing trend of more for less within the so-called art world. He produces a McDonald's-like painting. If anything is to blame, it is the socioeducational climate that has produced purchasers with shallow minds who revel in lazy looking. When owners tire of Keene's work, they will throw it away like a Styrofoam cup. AL BECK Monroe City, Mo.

Mass production in the visual arts is not a new idea. Hasn't anyone heard of Andy Warhol? Applause for Keene for challenging the definition of art and making it as accessible as fast food. RENEE C. FIRNER St. Paul, Minn.

DON'T CALL IT VOLUNTEERING

I am amazed that schools are forcing students to do volunteer work in their community [EDUCATION, Dec. 1]. Mandatory volunteerism is not volunteering. If our schools are going to require community service, maybe they should require new uniforms; may I suggest blue overalls? After new uniforms, perhaps we should replace our blackboards with telescreens. Long live Big Brother! What is our society becoming? RON BANCROFT Bay Point, Calif.

Requiring volunteer work is no more slavery than requiring that students do homework or run around a track during gym. A requirement for graduation is not a law. True, there is a consequence for failing to do these things--no graduation--but there are consequences for failing to do any number of things in life. The choice, however, is still there, with no legal penalty. Slavery is involuntary. Community service is not. MILTON B. ROUSE, Teacher of English Dana Hills High School Dana Point, Calif.