Sir, – Both Ellen O'Malley Dunlop (March 17th) and Cliíona Saidleéar (March 22nd) focus on the statistics surrounding pregnancy following rape and fail to address the far more important point – that of the needs and rights of the human beings involved.
Rape is an unimaginable and horrendous crime and when pregnancy occurs, there is no longer one victim, but two. We cannot simply airbrush the unborn baby from the discussion any more than we can ignore the needs of the woman involved. Both must be supported, and while there is far more that we need to do in Irish society to provide those supports, abortion cannot form part of the response.
Abortion exposes women to emotional hurt and possible psychological harm – the last thing needed after the trauma of rape. It ends the life of an unborn child. We don’t suggest ending a life to rectify any other crime. Why do so in the case of rape?
A truly compassionate response to rape means providing proper social and other supports to women who have been traumatised. It means seeking stronger sentences for rapists. And it means acknowledging the fact that often the best long-term outcome for both victims of rape is the one that seems impossible at first. – Yours, etc,
Dr RUTH CULLEN,
Pro-Life Campaign,
Lower Fitzwilliam Street,
Dublin 2