By Marie Mulvenna

Dr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Williams of Athens are perhaps the epitome of pro-life spokesmen, dedicating their efforts daily to the promotion of pro-life programs and beliefs.

Dr. Williams is a well-known neurosurgeon, practicing at both St. Mary’s Hospital and Athens General Hospital. His office is a center of pro-life activity, from the multitude of pro-life reading material to the sign of his entrance door that reads: “This office is dedicated to God who because of His love and mercy has given to physicians the skill to heal.”

Dr. William is a founding member of Georgia Physicians for the Preservation of Life, a group of 240 doctors in the state. Dorothy Williams is executive secretary of the group which was formed by nine doctors in 1972. They are both active members of the Georgia Right to Life organization and Mrs. Williams is membership chairman in Georgia of Large Families of America, a national group formed 10 years ago.

Their involvement in the right to life movement followed the death of a premature baby in 1970. Mrs. Williams relates her experience seeking advice from clergy of various denominations, stating she was put in touch with someone from Georgia Right to Life, then was asked to speak to a Catholic group on the topic of abortion. From that day on they have been deeply involved in the Georgia movement and, as she says, “It’s a daily thing with us, a way of life. If it doesn’t effect all your days, it effects none of them.”

The Williams’ are the parents of four children, aged one, eight, 10 and 11. Her children celebrate their birthdays by receiving gifts earmarked for use by Birthright, rather than the more traditional birthday gifts form their friends and playmates. They are also contributors to the many posters and bulletin board displays in their father’s waiting room all proclaiming the pro-life message, ranging form the unborn to the elderly.

Dr. Williams displays of pro-life literature run the gamut and are very favorably received by his patients. Mrs. Williams reported that only two persons had ever objected to the literature, adding that they were members of family planning groups. She said her husband gives books to many patients dealing with the pro-life movement. “If people know the truth about it,” she says, “very few would ever favor abortion.”

Mrs. Williams has just completed a book entitled “Let God Plan Your Family.” She describes it as a totally pro-life book, based on God’s commandment to man to be fruitful and multiply. At present she is ready to submit it to a publisher, adding that several have expressed their interest in it. She is now hard at work on two other written works, one a series of pro-children essays from various religious leaders and the other a book teaching children the pro-life attitude. It is entitled “How We Taught Our Children the Meaning of Love.”

In addition, the busy Mrs. Williams is assistant chairman in Georgia of a national organization called Happiness of Womanhood, a group she terms “definitely pro-life.” She said the organization is opposed to abortion, favors the role of the housewife and points up the fact that a woman would be willing to give up her life for her child, a fact she said is not always the case in today’s anti-life movement.

In addition to Dr. and Mrs. Williams’ outspoken support for pro-life, Dr. Williams gears his bills for professional services to favor the larger family. Mrs. Williams describes this practice as one rewarding the big family rather than penalizing it.

Along with their multitude of activities in Georgia, they are members of a large national pro-life group called Professionals For Life.

In Athens, there is no shortage of pro-life material or a letup in the campaign to protect and encourage life and respect for life at any age. Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Williams will see to that.