Sir, - So, what will the Crisis Pregnancy Agency do for a pregnant, suicidal, rape or incest survivor? Give her a travel grant and a voucher for an English clinic? How crassly hypocritical that the proposed legislation protects her right to travel to England for an abortion while threatening her, and anyone who assists her, with up to 12 years in prison if she procures one in Ireland.
Of course Section 4, which guarantees rights to information and travel, does not contain the words "in order to procure an abortion abroad". Why, when we all know that this is implicit in the wording? Is it because Fianna Fβil wants to hide the fact that it is more concerned with political strategy than with the welfare of women and that its conscience on the abortion issue ceases to operate at the 12-mile limit? Or is it an attempt to avoid fully acknowledging that more than 6,000 Irish women choose abortion annually and that to prevent their doing so is impossible?
When is the Government going to wake up to the fact that abortion is a women's health and welfare issue - not something which can be addressed through constitutional and criminal law amendments?
If it had to take the constitutional amendment route, might not an amendment that guaranteed a minimum income to mothers have been a more positive approach? - Yours, etc.,
Sandra McAvoy, Ballincurrig Park, Cork.