Sir, - Peter de Rosa's response (June 7th), to Rev Michael Manning (June 4th), once again highlights the issue of our treatment of very early life. This is an issue that no one has dealt with, despite being mentioned in your Letters pages over the years.
If indeed a human being exists from the moment of conception, then we should treat that life with respect in all circumstances, but we don't. We irreverently dispose of embryos and we do not have formal church or State procedures in the case of early miscarriages.
How can we possibly consider a referendum on abortion when our approach to our treatment of early life is so undefined? If a woman has a very early miscarriage, the foetus is casually disposed of. There is no funeral or baptism. Yet, if a woman were to have an abortion within the same time frame, she could be open to accusations of murder.
Which is it? Let's either treat early life properly or accept that it is indeed different.
Is there anyone prepared to offer a church, medical or ethical response to this question? Until such time as there is, we cannot proceed on the abortion debate. - Yours, etc.,
Kathleen Kelleher, Greystones, Co Wicklow.