Sir, – Patients here in Co Mayo travel three to four hours to Dublin for cardiac and neurosurgical procedures. The flight from Knock to the UK is one hour and those who travel are back the next day after procedures.
The legislation for the protection of life during pregnancy is seriously flawed for medical practitioners: two psychiatrists and an obstetrician not qualified in mental health is not good practice. The legislation proposes that the GP shall be consulted where practicable. What happens if the mother refuses permission for this contact or refuses to give permission to the GP to provide information?
The legislation states that where the unborn may be potentially viable outside the womb doctors must make all efforts to sustain its life after delivery. Will this be acceptable to the mother?
If the child lives and is damaged, who shall be responsible? If a mother is suicidal at 24 weeks, what will happen the baby when she is entitled to an abortion?
Forty years ago I worked in obs and gynae under a daily Mass-going female obstetrician. When a patient was admitted with ruptured membranes and a diagnosis of inevitable miscarriage was made, the patient had an immediate D&C and was home the following day.
Rules and regulations introduced since have not helped. This new legislation is not the answer. Let’s have common sense and the Hippocratic Oath. – Yours, etc,
Dr KEN EGAN,
General Practitioner,
Ballindine,
Co Mayo.
Sir, – Isn’t rather ironic that an article by William Binchy headlined “It is time for some plain speaking on abortion Bill” (Opinion, May 9th) should contain a piece of obfuscation in the opening sentence?
“The Government is proposing, for the first time since Ireland became independent, that the Oireachtas pass a law prescribing the death of innocent human beings.”
Prof Binchy is a lawyer and he knows very well what “prescribing” means.
The Government proposes to prescribe the death of nobody, born, or unborn. It is proposing to pass legislation which will allow doctors, in very limited circumstances to carry out an abortion, to save a woman’s life. Nowhere in the legislation does the Government prescribe any treatment.
Under the proposed legislation, no woman will have an abortion prescribed for her by law. In certain circumstances, when she has followed a prescribed process, she will be allowed to choose whether to have an abortion, or not, to save her own life.
You may agree with this legislation or not, but at least let us debate the issue on the facts. – Yours, etc,
JOHN COLLINS,
Percy Terrace,
Lower Newtown,
Waterford.
Sir, – A number of years ago I had the privilege of attending the excellent Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) course, delivered by the HSE Regional Suicide Resource Office and aimed at preventing suicides. The message from the course is very clear: risks can be assessed and safe plans put in place with appropriate supports and links to health care workers. Simply put, the HSE is telling us that the those with suicidal ideation can be cared for.
With this in mind, is seems perverse that suicidal ideation should be advanced as legal grounds for taking innocent human life and for making psychiatrists, against their better judgment, the scapegoats for our moral cowardice and failure to genuinely help those in need. Surely we can do better. – Yours, etc,
SEAMUS O’CALLAGHAN,
Bullock Park,
Carlow.
Sir, – If the number of cases that necessitate terminations is in the tens, worst case very low hundreds, why do thousands seek terminations abroad? – Yours, etc,
DERMOT SHINNERS-
KENNEDY,
Ballysimon,
Limerick.