Sir, - Manus MacMeanmain's letter of December 12th requires a simple response to its simple contents. To say that abortion is "more a male issue than a female issue" simply because, as he asserts, more male babies are conceived, is fatuous. I shall leave this point of his unchallenged, as its absurdity speaks for itself.
Mr MacMeanmain also assumes that the majority of Irish women who travel to England to terminate their pregnancies do so in secret and against the strong opposition of the men involved. Having worked for years with women in situations of crisis pregnancy, let me assure him that this is simply not the case. Many of the men involved are supportive of the women's decisions, a fact which brings much needed support and compassion.
Whatever the crux or outcome of the abortion debate, it will never stop Irish women seeking this medical service, regardless of what others say. And that, perhaps, is the only simple fact that matters. - Yours, etc.
Alison Gibney, Glasnevin, Dublin 9.