University of Virginia Library

Spock To Lecture
At Medical School

By Donn Kessler
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Benjamin Spock, the noted pediatrician and vocal opponent to the Indochina War,
will speak to doctors and students of the medical school tomorrow at 11 a.m. in the
Medical School Auditorium.

Dr. Benjamin Spock

Addresses Medical Students Tomorrow

According to Ake Mattsson, a
professor in the Division of Chile and
Adolescent Services in the Department of
Psychiatry, Dr. Spock will speak on the
subject of child rearing at the morning
meeting.

Dr. Mattsson explained that because
of the limited number of seats in the
Medical School Auditorium, the speech
will be closed to the general University
community.

Dr. Mattsson added, however, that Dr.
Spock will also be speaking to medical
students informally at 3:30 tomorrow
afternoon in the Medical School Auditorium.
This discussion will consist of a general
question and answer period with the students.

Dr. Spock, the noted author of Baby and
Child Care, the guide on bringing up children,
was convicted in July, 1968 in Boston of
conspiring to "counsel, aid and abet violations
of the Universal Military Training and Service
Act and hindering the administration of the
draft."

At the time of his indictment, the activist
physician said that 'if the government chose to
prosecute, I would be glad to have this
opportunity to prove that we were right."

The trial of Dr. Spock and his four
co-defendants, was marked by demonstration
by anti-war groups outside the courtroom in
Boston and heralded by the press as a precedent
setting case concerning dissent, the legality of
the war in Vietnam, and the draft.

Violation Of Law

The federal government, which brought the
indictment against the defendants, charged that
Dr. Spock's press conferences, distribution of
literature on avoiding the draft, and his
counseling of students to return their draft
cards to the government, constituted a violation
of national law.

Included among the dissenting doctor's
co-defendants were Mitchell Goodman, Michael
Ferber, Marcus Raskin, and William Sloane
Coffin, Jr., the chaplain of Yale University.

The activist physician, along with three of
the four other defendants, was found guilty of
the government charges and was sentenced to
two year in prison and a $5000 fine.

Speaking out against the war, Dr. Spock said
"We have lost the ability to see reality in
foreign affairs. When we say an individual has
lost his sense of reality, he becomes psychotic.
He may hurt other people, but he will surely
hurt himself first."