Sir, - Who could fail to have been moved by Deirdre de Barra's letter on Monday? I'll be interested to hear the response of the people whom she addresses on the issue she raises - and I'd add to that list Prof Anthony Clare.
Let us not fool ourselves. This referendum is not about compassion for women and children. This is yet another attempt to enshrine in our Constitution the ideals of a particular section of our society, in line with a particular religious ethos, dressed up in a quasi-liberal cloak in order to appeal to the moderate voter. It almost had me duped.
The posters say, "Vote Yes - Protect Women and Children". Protect from what? Women, we are told, receive the best of medical treatment while pregnant at the moment, so what improvements would ensue were the referendum to be carried? As far as I can see, not only would there be no improvements, but certain procedures which are currently available at all hospitals would thereafter be restricted to approved centres, thereby necessitating women in urgent need of such treatment having to travel for who knows how many miles to receive it.
So this is compassion? The voice of common sense says no. It will not be silenced by the Government or by those psychiatrists and lawyers who are desperate to close the circle and move on to the next business, pretending to themselves that they've done well for women. - Yours, etc.,
HILARY WARDROP,
Strand Road,
Dublin 4.
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Sir, - Peter Finlay SC declares (Opinion, February 25th) that the abortion proposal "rides roughshod over the democratic institutions of the State". His criticism is groundless and borders on the hysterical.
The current proposal results from three dominant positions presented to the all-party Oireachtas committee: (i) a simple paragraph in the Constitution would not be sufficient to address the issue of abortion; (ii) legislation alone would not be sufficient to overturn the 1992 Supreme Court decision; (iii) the people should be given a direct say in such a crucial matter as the right to life.
Thus legislation, overturning the X-case, and introduced by means of a decision of the people, was an excellent solution. Law is an inherently dynamic and creative discipline. The novelty of the mechanism adopted should not be considered a flaw in itself.
Mr Finlay denies "that the will of the people carried in a referendum can lawfully supplant the democratic function of an elected representative carrying out his constitutional function."
Why not? The Constitution is there for the people, not the people for the Constitution. He further states that the proposal "attacks not only the office of the President but also the democratic and constitutional function of the Supreme Court". This is another sensationalist claim lacking real substance. Rather, the proposal sensibly recognises that legislation approved in a referendum by the State's supreme law-makers, the people, is ipso facto constitutional and should not be open to review by the Supreme Court on referral by the President.
March 6th represents a clear choice between allowing abortion on a highly subjective ground or an amendment that guarantees the right to life of both pregnant women and their unborn children. The issue should not be obscured by exaggerated and irrelevant pseudo-criticism. - Yours, etc.,
GERARD BRADY, BL,
Belmont Avenue,
Dublin 4.
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Sir, - In a recent statement on the abortion referendum, psychiatrists who support the Government's proposal stated that "there are no psychiatric conditions for which abortion is the only answer".
Nobody disputes this. However, this argument is being used disingenuously to support a proposal that would rule out abortion as part of an appropriate response in specific cases where a woman is suicidal. These views are not representative of all Irish psychiatrists and are at variance with the views of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which is the main professional body for psychiatrists in Ireland.
To incorporate a ban on abortion within the Irish Constitution on the grounds of suicide is both medically inappropriate and profoundly stigmatising of the mentally ill. Would anyone seriously consider including a clause in the Constitution prohibiting abortion for patients with cancer whose medical condition required a termination of pregnancy? Such a position would be outrageous but, in our opinion, no more outrageous than excluding potentially life-threatening psychiatric disorder.
Why should patients with psychiatric illness be treated differently from patients with other medical conditions? To provide a legislative basis for such a dichotomy is unacceptable and will result in a legislative stigmatisation of an often extremely vulnerable group of patients.
The recent statement of Mr Dermot Ahern - "Having a child would be therapeutic for a woman who might be of those \ tendencies. And in fact pregnancy in itself would prevent the likelihood of suicide" - would not be worthy of comment if the overall issue was not so serious. While pregnancy can be a very fulfilling experience for some women, this is not a universal experience and the risk of becoming depressed during pregnancy is higher than at any other point in a woman's life.
Perinatal psychiatry is available as a routine speciality service in most countries because of the clustering of mental health problems with pregnancy and birth. Perhaps the singular views being expressed about mental health and pregnancy in this debate are a reflection of the underdevelopment of this speciality service in Ireland.
Psychiatric illness is rarely an indication for termination of pregnancy, but a total ban on termination on the grounds of suicide is in our opinion highly inappropriate and will undoubtedly endanger the lives of some vulnerable women. - Yours, etc.,
Dr VERONICA O'KEANE,
PhD, MRCPsych, FRCPI,
Consultant Psychiatrist,
Beaumont Hospital,
Dublin 9;
Prof Ted DINAN, FRCPsych,
FRCPI, PhD, MD,
The Cork Clinic;
Dr JOHN CONNOLLY,
FRCPsych,
Head of Psychiatric
Services, Mayo;
Dr LUCINDA SCOTT,
MRC Psych, PhD,
Cork University Hospital;
Dr ENA LAVELLE,
MRCPsych, Consultant in
Rehabilitation Psychiatry,
St. Ita's Hospital;
Prof TOM FAHY,
MD. FRCPsych, FRCPI, DPM,
Emeritus Prof, NUI Galway;
Dr EAMONN MOLONEY,
MRPsych,
Consultant Psychiatrist,
Mercy Hospital, Cork;
Dr AISLING CAMPBELL,
MRPsych. MMedSc,
Consultant Psychiatrist,
Cork Union Hospital;
Dr DOREEN O'ROURKE,
Consultant Psychiatrist,
St Mary's Hospital, Castlebar;
Dr PETER KIRWAN,
MB, MRC Psych., FRCPC,
Clinical Director,
Department of Psychiatry,
Mid-western Regional Hospital,
Limerick.
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Sir, - I intend to vote Yes on March 6th. As a junior doctor I worked in various maternity hospitals in the UK. I was present at one particular TOP (termination of pregnancy) at which the foetus was essentially delivered vaginally at around 22 weeks gestation and promptly thrown into a stainless steel bucket. It wriggled about quite vigorously at first and died after about five or 10 minutes. I was quite tempted to pick her up and cuddle her but was too shocked to move for quite some time. In size and appearance she was no different to many of the premature babies which I had a part in caring for whilst working in children's wards previously.
In this same hospital enormous resources in manpower and money were devoted to caring for every premature baby. Most staff did not seem to find the contrast a contradiction.I personally found this situation demoralising and dehumanising. The huge irony, of course, is that generally the terminated, if left alone, would have a much much better chance of becoming normal healthy children (at minimal cost) than the babies born prematurely (on whom enormous resources are expended).
Having said all this, have given out the morning-after pill many hundreds of times and have no problem in doing so. I don't think anybody can fully comprehend the enormity of the scientific, theological and religious issues involved in abortion and for my part I am simply following my heart - doing what feels right to me. - Yours, etc.
Dr PATRICK FINN,
Glasnevin, Dublin 9.