SANDRA McAVOY,
Sir, - Even if it were possible to prove Stephen Redmond's musing (June 17th) - that "it is at least very probable that a majority of the minority who participated in the referendum were pro-life voters" - it would not dent Ivana Bacik's argument that the majority of the Irish people do not share his "fundamentalist views" on abortion (June 7th).
The influence of the split in the pro-life movement on the referendum outcome is no more calculable than the extent to which confusion resulted in the casting of Yes votes by those who thought that by doing so would liberalise our abortion laws. I am surprised, however, that, when Father Redmond highlights the failure of a majority of the electorate to vote, it does not occur to him that, by their abstention, or apathy, they demonstrated a lack of interest in rolling back the X-case judgement. Add this majority to the No vote.
Let us leave permutations on voting figures aside and focus on the urgent matters raised during the referendum debate. Ms Bacik is right. The new Government must legislate for abortion to be performed where a woman's life is at risk. Irish women and their doctors need the protection of the law. It must also address the issue, raised by Deirdre de Barra, of enabling women to choose to end their pregnancies in Ireland in cases in which foetal abnormalities inconsistent with life outside the womb are diagnosed.
Another lesson we could learn from pre-referendum discussions is that, with the increasing plurality of Irish society, many people accept that there are circumstances in which abortion can be a conscientious choice. The debate must continue if we are to define those circumstances more precisely. - Yours, etc.,
SANDRA McAVOY, Ballincurrig Park, Douglas Road, Cork.