Sir, – The allegation by the Pro Life Campaign that media outlets are "extremely biased" on the issue of abortion appears to have been given some credence within a matter of hours of the claim being made ("Pro Life Campaign criticises 'extremely biased' media", October 12th). The Ipsos/MRBI poll ("Majority of voters want abortion law liberalised", October 13th) asked respondents whether they agreed that abortion should be permissible in situations "where the foetus will not be born alive".
An answer in the affirmative to such a question might seem uncontroversial to many people, however the fact is that in medical terms the number of babies who “will not be born alive” and who cannot survive outside the womb for any period of time, as a percentage of all those diagnosed with serious foetal abnormalities, is tiny in number.
The matter is further complicated by the fact that it is very difficult for medical professionals to assess the likelihood of survival outside the womb in the first instance. Doctors simply cannot assess whether or not a child “will not be born alive”, so therefore it will be impossible to frame a constitutional amendment or legislation which covers such an eventuality.
The vast majority of babies diagnosed with abnormalities in the womb are born alive, even if they live for only a short time. Even in cases of anencephaly, probably the most serious abnormality which can occur in the womb, 75 per cent of children diagnosed are born alive and many will live for a number of weeks.
If these facts were put to respondents for your opinion poll, it is not unreasonable to suggest that there would have been a substantial reduction in the numbers who would support abortion in such circumstances.
Why was such a misleading question put to voters in an opinion poll in the first place? – Yours, etc,
BARRY WALSH,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.