On sterility

I refer to Mr. Djuana's letter (The Jakarta Post, April 12) dealing with couples and sterility. Scientists have redoubled their efforts to solve this problem but have yet to produce tangible results.

Though Mr. Djuana's goodwill in helping people should be appreciated, I don't believe that his hypothesis can be considered a decisive solution to the problem. It's just the opposite! Much better to avoid confusing people involved in the matter with conjecture.

For instance, unless dealing with fetishists, everybody agrees that office equipment cannot be considered stimulating items and that computers and typing machines can be symbols of sex appeal. But to attribute a drop in a couple's sexual appetite to long office hours is a rash hypothesis.

A further topic in his letter deserves a comment. Dealing with a couple having sterility problems, he wrote: "...the husband is a physician, so one can imagine how desperate they must feel".

Well, I'm of the opinion that a physician's family feels as desperate as anybody's family in dealing with the problem. The difference is that other families have to face additional problems if they happen to be food vendors or bajaj drivers with limited incomes to support their families.

PIERO RONCI

Jakarta