Sir, - On Sunday's RTE lunchtime news Prof William Binchy, legal adviser to the Pro-Life Campaign, admitted that the 1983 abortion referendum had done nothing to reduce the number of Irish women going to Great Britain for abortions. Indeed, it was interpreted by the Supreme Court as allowing abortion here in certain circumstances including the threat of suicide by the woman. Have any of those now seeking another referendum thought that it may do even more damage?
Most abortions have been carried out by surgical means in clinics. However, medical abortifacients, developed some years ago, are now used worldwide to perform more and more abortions for socio-economic reasons. These pills need no clinic for administration. They are 95 per cent effective up to 7 weeks and 75 per cent up to 9 weeks. The Government, since the McKenna Judgement, is obliged to give both sides of the argument in any referendum. We could end up with any proposed referendum being like a marketing campaign for these drugs.
Abortion can never be the preferred end to any pregnancy, but to lower our abortion rate (and it is the Irish abortion rate in Great Britain I'm talking about - it doesn't matter where they are done), we should pay some attention to the report "Women and Crisis Pregnancy" by Evelyn Mahon and her colleagues of Trinity College and try to do something practical rather than theoretical in this very difficult area. - Yours, etc.,
Senator Mary Henry MD, Seanad Eireann, Baile Atha Cliath 2.