Sir, - The pursuit of the pregnancy counselling agency featured in the recent High Court case is becoming a witch-hunt. The outcry is disproportionate to the offence. And accusations are made by many whose own records on the welfare of children, born and unborn, is not unblemished.
The agency's attempted adoption was illegal and inappropriate and cannot be condoned; that was the only question before the court. It is odd that the Eastern Health Board did not resolve the matter without recourse to law. That said, the people involved were probably good people serving women and equally anxious to preserve the lives of their children. They probably did a lot of good with kindness and common sense, even if they did not use recognised "counselling" techniques.
The court said a lot about the rights of the baby. Had the mother attended other agencies, the baby could have died in a British clinic. Some of the agency's critics assist in abortion and favour having it in Ireland, something which 70 per cent oppose. In today's Ireland, it is quite legal to help destroy the unborn abroad. That does not make it right.
While the agency's behaviour can be fairly criticised, the critics are going over the top. It would profit them to take a closer look at themselves and that includes the Eastern Health Board, whose attitudes to adoption have been justly criticised. - Yours, etc.,
E. O Raghallaigh, Mapas Road, Dalkey, Co Dublin.