Sir, - So Bertie Ahern proposes to put the abortion question on the long finger. Yet I seem to recall the Government being told by the Supreme Court that action in the legislative field on this difficult subject was, to put it mildly, overdue.
One solution stands out as being, at least, easier to understand than the recent referendum proposal. Let there be a draft Bill, to be circulated to interested bodies, with perhaps an explanatory leaflet to each household in the State to make it clear that abortion in this country is not subject to the criminal or the civil law in the following circumstances:
1. The X case, to follow through from the constitutional position, as the Supreme Court advised;
2. The Ms de Barra case, where, in the opinion of the consultant gynaecologist, the foetus has no prospect of survival;
3. Cases of rape or incest.
And let the Bill provide specific legal cover to medical practitioners who undertake the appropriate procedures, including those where treatment essential for the health of the mother may incidentally result in the death of the unborn.
Finally, let there be a free vote in the Dáil through all stages of such a Bill for every TD and senator, and let there be a vote taken on each item separately.
Such a measure would not of itself reduce the total number of abortions performed on Irish women, but it would tend to reduce the numbers of late abortions. This would help to create a more compassionate milieu in which good quality pre-and post-abortion medical care could be provided. - Yours, etc.,
B.K. CHAMBERS,
Douglas Lawn,
Douglas Village,
Cork.