“People do not deserve honor and respect simply for having a baby,” added Dr. Gould, the father of two, to applause from the crowd. “Children are not that perfect—or likable, either.”

One‐Third Single

The audience, many of whom were wearing red and white “N.O.N.” buttons, appeared to be mostly white, middle‐class men and women of child‐bearing age. About one‐third of them were unmarried. Blacks and senior citizens were as scarce at the gatherings as teething rings and diapers.

However, one 67‐year‐old woman, Tess Cohen of Manhattan, brought down the house when she rose during the speak‐out and said:

“This is a movement for which I have waited all my life. I suffered the guilt of not giving my parents grandchildren, and I suffered the taunts of self‐righteous people who thought they were doing the right thing for society by having children. What group like this can do is lift away the guilt and self‐consciousness that people feel if , they don't want children.”

One of the most heated parts of the convention came during a public discussion of whether N.O.N. should take a stand on feminism. It was prompted by the disgruntlement of several N.O.N. members who thought that Isaac Asimov, the author, had introduced Ellen Peck, author of “The Baby Trap” and a N.O.N. officer, in a “sexist” way at the convention's general session. He described Miss Peck, who was wearing a clingy beige knit pants suit with her long blond hair in a Brigitte Bardot style, as “a sexual tornado.”

Although there were speakers on both sides of the feminist issue, the consensus seemed to be that the feminists were fighting for a different kind of liberation. “Theirs is liberation from male dominance,” Miss Peck said, “and ours is liberation from the motherhood myth.”