To the Editors:

I was overjoyed and excited by the medical breakthroughs reported in your story, especially the artificial heart [MEDICINE, Dec. 10]. As a 19-year-old, I refuse to accept "the probability of disease, the inevitability of death" or my "duty to die."

Norman Dale Carrico Bloomington, Ind.

If the cost of providing artificial or transplant hearts for the 50,000 patients who need them is equivalent to that of three Trident submarines, I will do without the Tridents.

Dennis M. Palm Minneapolis

Not many Americans are likely to make use of an artificial heart in the near future, but there are millions of us this winter who would like to hear about a drug that cures influenza.

Watson Parker Oshkosh, Wis.

I am a registered nurse with a health-management company involved in auditing hospital bills for insurance carriers. Previously I spent seven years working in an acute-care unit of a nonprofit hospital. From my experience, I can tell you that the waste, misbilling, double billing and unnecessary testing are atrocious. More power to Louisville's Humana Hospital for hiring business professionals who can correct the inefficiencies and institute money-saving methods.

Sarah M. Walsh Vestal N. Y.

Six years ago my husband received a kidney transplant. His options at the time were a transplant costing $30,000, chronic dialysis (which would have cost $100,000 thus far) or death. If he had not decided to have the transplant, I and our four young children would have received $100,000 in Social Security benefits through the years. Instead, my husband is a productive, taxpaying member of society. A $30,000 transplant has proved to be the economical choice.

Barbara Carson Morgantown, W. Va.

Technology prolongs dying, and the resources consumed are tremendous. Why can we Americans not accept death honestly and naturally?

Elisabeth M. Greisen Boston

When my father went through heart valve-replacement surgery, the whole family suffered pain and anxiety along with him. But ask any one of us if we would be willing to go through the experience again, and we all, including my father, will say yes.

Theresa M. Mueller New York City

Nonprofit hospitals should consider adopting the corporate approach to controlling expenditures. I am not suggesting that all medical institutions should make a profit, but perhaps cost containment through consortium development would provide an effective alternative to escalating health-care costs.

Kathleen K. Borenstein Rahway, N.J.

I was strongly opposed to the idea of profit-making medical conglomerates until I read your article. But if conglomerates are what it takes to bring America's doctors to heel, I am for them.

James F. Carrigan Portsmouth, N.H.

Sharon vs. TIME

General Ariel Sharon's libel suit against TIME [PRESS, Nov. 26] puts at stake the freedom of the press and the right of Americans to be fully informed. If news that is honestly gathered can be suppressed by the threat of a libel suit by a public figure, the press is gagged.

William S. Verplanck Knoxville

You have heaped upon Sharon, an illustrious field commander and visionary leader, scorn, calumniation and apparent libel. In the process you have also denigrated Israel and unjustifiably questioned its moral standards.

Raphael Israeli Cambridge, Mass.

Sharon contends that the TIME statements suggest he encouraged the murders at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps and that TIME injured his political reputation. Is Sharon trying to enhance his political reputation, or earn a quick $50 million?

Brian Manwaring Rexburg, Idaho

Future Foreign Policy

Henry Grunwald's discussion of foreign policy during the second Reagan Administration [ESSAY, Dec. 10] centers on how to deal with the Soviets and the alternative approaches between the leftist view of being conciliatory and the rightist of being coercive, or some blend of the two. But there is another way of dealing with the U.S.S.R., and that is to strengthen the United Nations so that East-West conflicts can be resolved on some basis other than bilateral negotiations with threats of force in the background.

Ronald J. Glossop Jennings, Mo.

Your Essay suggests the U.S. should placate the Soviets by forsaking Afghanistan. We know the Soviets are mendacious, and that is the reason Reagan I mistrusted them. I voted for Reagan I, not Reagan II. I am afraid the U.S. is going to give too much for a little detente.

William A. Welnosky Lineboro, Md.

Bipartisan approval is extremely important when considering how to improve our relations with the Soviet Union. We must never let the Soviets play the Democrats off against the Republicans. Bipartisan commissions must work together to form a consensus on foreign and defense policy. America needs one strong hand, not two weak ones, to grasp the situation and come down hard on the Soviets.

Mark T. Finch Santa Monica, Calif.

If a "foreign policy consensus" on ending the arms race is not achieved, we can expect three consequences. First, a continuing arms race will impoverish all countries, making Communist propaganda more effective. Second, a technical error, in Washington or Moscow, will cause the outbreak of World War III, which only a small fraction of the world's population will live through. Finally, the survivors will be forced by necessity to produce and distribute food and other goods under a Communist system. Each consequence is sufficient reason to support an end to the arms race.

Kurt Kauffmann Freiburg, West Germany

Hunting Moby Dick

The agreement between Japan and the U.S. that allows whaling to continue for four more years [ENVIRONMENT, Dec. 3] will open the door for other countries, like mine, to follow suit. We are disappointed that the U.S. has backed away from its previous record of leadership in international efforts to achieve conservation of the great whales.

Sonia Lochen Norwegian League for Animal Rights Oslo

Just because Japan prizes whale meat as a delicacy does not justify the Japanese slaughter of these creatures.

Scott Anderson Citrus Heights, Calif.

I was outraged by your article on whaling. Why is it wrong to eat whale meat? Americans have no compunctions about eating beef.

Takeshi Hama Chiba, Japan

Japan displays arrogance in its flagrant disregard of the International Whaling Commission's ban on sperm-whale hunting. The U.S., however, is equally at fault in deciding to sidestep its own statutes and "cut a deal" with the Japanese.

Allen E. Rizzi Agoura, Calif.

Message Machines

Your article "At the Sound of the Beep ..." [ESSAY, Nov. 26] was wonderful. The fun in having an answering machine is hearing it ring while you are at home and not answering. That is power.

Audrey Levine West Los Angeles

For whatever discomfort the beep imposes, it is an excellent deterrent to the crank or obscene caller.

Keyton E. Barker Jr. Topeka, Kans.

I have been a widow for less than a month. One day when I was feeling particularly sad, I went to my husband's office, turned on his automatic answering machine, then hurried to the nearest public telephone. I dialed the office number and heard my husband's deep, mellow voice. It was the best medicine that could have been prescribed for me.

Rosalie Kirkendale Lake Placid, Fla.

Double Image

The item about the two portraits of President Nixon [PEOPLE, Dec. 10] left an impression that was unfair to one of the artists. It is not true that the former President "never did like" the painting by Alexander Clayton. When J. Anthony Wills' canvas was completed, the Nixons decided to designate it the White House portrait and to earmark Mr. Clayton's for the library now planned at San Clemente.

John H. Taylor Office of Richard Nixon New York City