in from South America to per-gain to hormonal adjustments
form the operation. Administra-made by the fetus.
tors at Otis Chandler Memorial "Lactation was the strangest
Hospital, though, stood by their side effect," Edwards quipped.
decision, stating that Fletcher "The doctors aren't sure I can
should be treated no differently nurse, though, so I think I'll use
from any other visiting foreign bottles when I get out of here." specialist. Working with a team
FLETCHER ADMITS
FREEZING FETUSES
hope that someday a way
Never Performed Abortions, might be found to revive
Doctor Says in Interview
Associated Press them and implant them in
SÃU PALO-In an exclu-recipient mothers."
sive interview with the British In all, Dr. Fletcher froze
science magazine Nature, Dr. 3,618 fetuses, all of which
Evelyn Fletcher admitted that are being stored in secret lo-she had always planned to de-cations around the United velop transoption as a viable States. U.S. officials, con-alternative to abortion. In her tacted by Nature, could find years at Bayside University nothing illegal with the unor-Medical Center, she said, she thodox method of storage. preserved every fetus she re-When asked, Dr. Fletcher
moved from women undergo-admitted that "probably very
ing abortions. few" of the fetuses could be
"I could have disposed of expected to survive the
them in any number of ways," freezing and thawing pro-she said from her clinic in Bra-cess. "But even one life zil. "I decided to have them saved," she said, "would
cryogenically preserved in the make my effort worth-while."
TRANSOPTION RING
BROKEN BY FBI
"Massive" Operation family-planning clinics in Mal-Nets Eight Young ibu, Westwood, and Irvine. Surgeons, Gold "They offered large sums of
cash to unwed mothers who
Exclusive to the Times came in for abortions," Dela-LOS ANGELES-Eight cort said. "Then they tran-young Southland surgeons sopted the fetuses into other were arrested Friday by the women who paid astronomical
FBI and local police in a fees for the service."
sweep that netted illegal tran-Also seized in the coordi-soption equipment, nearly a nated raids were containers of million dollars in cash and cryogenic liquid that led Dela-gold, and information on cort to speculate that some of thousands of transoptions the fetuses were being frozen
performed over the last five for future use.
years throughout California, "When there's an under-Arizona, and Nevada. ground demand for something The eight surgeons, de-as there is for transoption,"
scribed by FBI Special Agent Delacort stated, "there's a tre-Richard Delacort as "money-mendous incentive for doctors hungry kids armed with la-to violate their ethics and pro-sers," operated out of three vide it." Dear Editor:
Your editorial about the Transoption Eight could
not have been more short-sighted and uninformed
["Doctors Should Have Stuck to Abortions," July
18]. Simply because abortion is legal and transop-tion is not places no obligation on your paper to support the persecution of these dedicated medical
pioneers. There was a time when "the majority of
medical opinion," as you put it, could "see there
was no scientific merit" in a doctor washing his
hands between dissecting cadavers and delivering
babies.
Consider for a moment what the Transoption
Eight have done. Without a cent of federal funding,
they have freed thousands of women from un-wanted pregnancies and the onus of abortion and given thousands of other women the gift of beauti-ful, healthy babies. For this they have been ar-rested and imprisoned soley because Congress and the president decided to create a new criminal
class with the stroke of a pen.
The women who paid fortunes to receive those
unwanted babies are not creating "new burdens on
a strained society." They can afford to care for the
children that might otherwise have been born onto
welfare or aborted at taxpayer's expense. And the
women who freely gave up their pregnancies are
not the "hapless dupes, silenced with blood
money," that you describe. Most of them are
women who want neither to be pregnant nor be
killers.
I should know.
I am one of them.
[Name Withheld by Request]
SUPREME COURT
AGREES TO HEAR
TRANSOPTION CASE
Could Be Another Roe v. Wade,
Defendants Say
UPI
WASHINGTON-overturn the jury nullifi-Five Supreme Court jus-cation of [this] genocidal tices today approved a bit of legislation is
writ of certiorari to re-doomed to failure, if not
view the case of United in the Supreme Court,
States vs. Grosscup, in then in the real world
what will be the first high where women vote with
court test of the Rohra-their bodies in support of
bacher-Hayden Act out-transoption."
lawing transoption. Transoption, already
Wanda Grosscup, the legal in most countries in
first of nearly four thou-the Western Hemisphere,
sand women convicted has found popularity in
for violation of the law, the United States despite
has steadfastly main-its risky and illegal na-tained that she is in fact ture. (See story, Section the co-mother of her son C, P. 37-"Five Hundred
and was granted custody Thousand Plus: Officials
by an arrangement with Sinking in Sea of Tran-the so-called "first stage" soption Warrants.") co-mother. Grosscup, in appeal-Basing her defense on ing to the Supreme Court, the highly publicized seeks to overturn a Court
Dalton vs. Chandler deci-of Appeals reversal-on
sion rendered nearly a technical grounds-of a
decade ago, Grosscup federal district court ver-has enlisted the aid of dict in favor of her inno-outspoken transoption cence. The verdict in-advocate Adrianne Dyer. cited a blaze of contro-Dyer's Living Alterna-versy six years ago that tive Institute, based in centered on the ability of
Denver, issued a state-a jury to declare certain
ment that "the U.S. Dis-laws invalid.
trict Attorney's efforts to
TRANSOPTION BAN
UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Supporters on the open market like so
Hail Verdict much meat."
Attorney Terence John-Reuters son, who presented the oral
WASHINGTON-In a 6-argument for defendant
3 decision, the Supreme Wanda Grosscup, said
Court today overturned a "We're thrilled with the out-lower court ruling, in effect come. We always maintained declaring the Rohrabacher-that saving a life was not a
Hayden Act unconstitu-crime, and after eight years
tional. Associate Justice Wil-we are finally vindicated."
son wrote, in the majority Dr. Evelyn Fletcher, the
opinion, that "transoption de-surgeon who first developed
serves at least the same status transoption over a decade
that abortion has," and that ago, was asked to comment
the transoptive co-mothers on the decision just before her
are "protected by the same... keynote speech at the Interna-umbrella of privacy that cov-tional LifeChoice Confer-ers any woman who seeks ence in Edmonton, Alberta. either to terminate or initiate The globally-honored physi-a pregnancy." cian merely shrugged and Chief Justice Connely, in said, "You can't stop prog-her dissenting opinion, stated ress. You can either get on the that "a fetus is just as much a train or jump aside and wave