Sir, - As is known, the Northern Ireland Assembly debated abortion last June with a view to ensuring that the UK 1967 Abortion Act would not be applied to the North. The motion of Mr Jim Wells MLA was passed overwhelmingly.
What is less well known is the high standard of the debate and the level of knowledge shown by most participants. Most of all, it was nothing short of astonishing to see so many public representatives display such unqualified and unambiguous commitment to life, something one ought to be able to take for granted.
It is sad to record that I have never seen anything like it in the Dail. The Assembly debate was in marked contrast to the general tenor of the somewhat comparable proceedings of the All-Party Committee in Dublin.
The report of the assembly debate is worth reading. It is available from the Stationery Office Bookshop, 16 Arthur Street, Belfast BT1 4GD at £5 sterling. - Yours, etc.,
Richard Greene, Roebuck Road, Dublin 14.