Sir, - Ciara Dunne (September, 13th) is struck by the "ironic" assertion by "pro-abortionists" that a woman should have the right to choose - "the question really being: what kind of choice?" Ms Dunne goes on to say that many women faced with unwanted pregnancies have to choose between abortion or socio-economic exclusion. She also points out that the Netherlands permits abortion on request for the first three months of pregnancy, provides good socio-economic services to all, and has a very low abortion rate. She wished Ireland to improve socio-economic services while retaining current abortion laws.
I am not quite sure where irony enters into things and have never met a pro-abortionist. However, some anti-abortionists (somewhat oddly terming themselves "pro-life", as if others who do not share their views are anti-life) use the term pro-abortionists to describe people who are pro-choice. As someone who has been involved in the pro-choice movement in this country and in Britain since the late 1980s, I can assure Ms Dunne that any pro-choice organisation I have worked with has held the view that it is (1) the right of each pregnant woman to choose whether or not to complete a pregnancy; and (2) the duty of society to assist her in carrying out her decision.
Thus, the pro-choice movement supports free abortion on request; socio-economic benefits, such as those in the Netherlands, to allow women to complete pregnancies and bring up their own children; and a review of adoption laws to ensure that the interests of the child, birth parents and adoptive parents are protected. The pro-choice movement also supports the type of sex education and contraceptive services provided in the Netherlands but not mentioned in Ms Dunne's letter.
It is important to realise, however, that the Dutch system is founded on two pillars, which equate to the two principles of the pro-choice movement outlined above: (1) recognition of the entitlement of individuals to make moral decisions about their own sexuality and reproduction; and (2) recognition of the need for society to enable such decisions to be put into effect. Removal of either pillar would cause the whole system to collapse. - Yours, etc.,
SE d'Alton, Palmerstown Road, Dublin 6.