A Chara, - Referring to the vote on abortion in the British parliament this week, John Kenny (May 21st) regurgitates the facile argument that by refusing to legislate in similar fashion for abortion in this country, we are somehow either failing our citizens, avoiding tough decisions, or implementing an "Irish solution to an Irish problem".
The difficulty with this proposition, which has become the mantra of pro-choice correspondents, is that it completely fails to recognise that a significant majority of the population here reject utterly the appalling regime of abortion on demand for "social reasons" that has been in place in Britain since 1967. With a limit of 24 weeks' gestation - almost six months - this is one of the most liberal regimes in the world.
Moreover, an overwhelming majority of our legislators are both opposed personally to the introduction of abortion in this State, and are members of parties which are opposed to it. As such, they have neither a mandate for nor any interest in the introduction of such legislation. It is notable that this is also the case in the North where, also last week, parliamentarians blocked the introduction of legal abortion into Northern Ireland on the basis of almost universal public and political opposition.
Of course the real quandary yet to be resolved in this country is that, having enacted a constitutional amendment 25 years ago to protect the right to life of the unborn child, we find our courts have since interpreted this as actually providing a basis for allowing abortion, a scenario utterly repugnant to the wishes of the people who voted for for the amendment. Repeated attempts to rectify this by further referendums have failed because of a grotesque coalition of extremists on both sides collaborating to achieve a No vote, and consequently, to prolong the highly unsatisfactory status quo. Given all of this, it is one topic that will be off the political agenda for a long time to come.
- Is mise,
DAVID CARROLL, Castle Gate, Dublin 2.
Madam, - I commend John Kenny on his letter pointing out how, due to a lack of political courage to address the issue, Irish women's access to abortion services has once again been decided by a foreign government. An even deeper hypocrisy surrounding Ireland's stance on abortion became apparent this week when it emerged in Dublin City Coroner's Court that gardaí are seeking to question a woman from the Philippines who allegedly terminated her pregnancy illegally in 2006.
Under the present inequitable circumstances, women with the resources and freedom to travel to the UK can procure a legal, safe termination. Those who cannot leave the country due to visa restrictions or those who cannot gather the €1,500 or more to pay for the procedure are instead facing dangerous backstreet, criminalisation and a possible prison sentence. Rather than address this reality, Ireland turned its head when the Council of Europe drew attention to it.
- Yours, etc,
SINÉAD AHERN, Hermitage Close, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16.