Sir, – As the three-year review of Ireland’s abortion legislation gets under way, it is vital that we are prepared for an honest, open and objective review of the impact of the abortion legislation on the medical care of women and children.
Since repeal, nothing has been done by Government to increase genuine choices for women who find themselves with an unplanned pregnancy. Government has failed to fund or provide adequate practical support to women facing crisis pregnancies. It is time to properly fund and support all who face a crisis pregnancy.
We also need to show compassion when a baby survives an abortion. A recent study published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology stated that babies who survived late-term abortions in Irish hospitals have been left to die without receiving any palliative or medical care. This is an appalling vista, a scandal that the Government seems determined to ignore.
When the abortion legislation was making its way through the Seanad and Dáil, amendments that would have mandated medical care in cases where babies survive abortions were voted down. Likewise with amendments regarding pain relief for babies killed during late-term abortions.
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Perhaps we can revisit those oft-heard words from 2018 – “care and compassion in a crisis” – and amend the abortion legislation accordingly. – Yours, etc,
MARY O’BYRNE,
Galway.