By Eve Silver

The Atlanta Council of Catholic Women joined the National Foundation March of Dimes to work together for a “quest for quality of human reproduction.”

The A.C.C.W. had five members participating actively at the Feb. 18 conference and a number of members present at the all-day meeting.

At least 560,000 American lives are lost every year as a result of birth defects and 250,000 babies are born with significant birth defects. Other figures are three million people with mental deficiency of prenatal origin and almost that many with partial defects like visual, hearing and speech deficiencies. There is now a vaccine available to prevent two major causes of birth defects - rubella and Rh disease. Other preventive measures can be provided by genetic counseling, pediatric surgery and pre- conceptional and prenatal care.

On March 4 and 6 a training session for volunteers is scheduled the participants in the meeting were told. The volunteers will be trained to serve as clinical and pediatric assistants, nutritionists, therapists and social work volunteers. Participating organizations were strongly urged to provide volunteers for these services. Members of the participating organizations would relieve physicians, nurses, and social workers and therefore render an invaluable service to the community and to the nation.

“The decade ahead of us will be known as the decade of achievement in biological sciences and the challenge ahead is to make those sciences available to rich and poor alike,” said Mrs. George Romney, the afternoon speaker. Mrs. Romney also expressed the opinion that “the most sacred relationship between man and woman is being debased by the pill.” She forcefully tried to convince the audience that children should be born without birth defects. “The miracle of life should be the opportunity to be born whole,” she said. She urged “woman power” to solve at least one of the deep problems of our day “or the whole world will never forgive us.”

The U.S. ranks only 14th best in infant mortality but the money necessary to attack this problem will not be forthcoming this year from the Nixon administration a top U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare official said.

Forms were handed out for volunteers to register for the training sessions March 4 and 6, to serve at Grady Memorial Hospital clinic and the neighborhood clinics in six different fields “to insure a high quality in human reproduction.”