A chara, - The thought occurred to me recently, as I witnessed the great vigour with which the Pro-life Campaign has conducted itself, that if it put as much effort into removing the reasons why women in Ireland actually go for abortions as it does into its campaigning for a change in the law, it might actually achieve some good in our society.
I'm sure a poll could be commissioned to see what it was that has caused these unfortunate women to decide abortion was the best choice for them, and an attempt to address these needs could be made. Once the (perceived) need for abortion has been removed, there won't be the demand for abortions.
Lives would be saved, and nobody would feel their rights have been trampled upon.
But instead, I think the Pro-Life Campaign just wants to be sure that no such abortions are commissioned or carried out in Ireland, and then we can go back to the smug attitude that "it does not happen here", while we just export the problem to the UK (for those who can afford it, of course). - Yours, etc.,
Philip Murphy, Silloge Road, Ballymun, Dublin 11,