A noted professor of medicine at the University of California once presented his students with a curious hypothetical question:
"Here's the family history: The father has syphilis, the mother tuberculosis. They have already had four children. The first is blind. The second died. The third is deaf. And the fourth also has tuberculosis.
"Now the mother is pregnant again and the parents have come to you for advice. They are willing to have an abortion if you think they should. What do you say?"
After a brief discussion, the students were broken into small groups and instructed to return with a decision. Each group recommended an abortion.
"Congratulations," the professor remarked, surveying the class. "You have just taken the life of Beethoven."
[A helpful reader (Douglas Case) offers this advice: "...to distinguish fact from fiction (Beethoven was the second of seven children, not the fifth; he was the first to survive; there is no record of either his parents or siblings [having] any of the infirmities mentioned in the tale) I thought I'd offer you a quick and easy method--if the story comes from 'Ann Landers' it's a lie."... A similar hypothetical runs as follows: "An unmarried teenage girl is pregnant. Her fiance is not the baby's father and he's very upset... The child in question? Jesus Christ.]Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770-1827) German composer [noted for his prodigious output, including two masses, two ballets, the opera Fidelio, nine symphonies, five piano concertos, a violin concerto, thirty-two piano sonatas, ten sonatas for violin and piano, and seventeen string quartets]
[Sources: Ann Landers; Rev. Michael Stagg, Outlook] --
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