Sir, – David Robert Grimes (Opinion, June 26th), while extolling the scientific method, writes of “several needless deaths following the X case”. The actual scientific evidence for these tragedies, however, seems to have gone missing from his published article. It was also missing from reports of the recent Oireachtas hearings.
I attempted a scientific analysis of my own, as follows. About one in 500,000 pregnant women take their own lives, and about 75,000 births occur here each year. In the period since the X case, therefore, probably three of these tragedies have occurred. How many of these three tragedies would have been prevented by abortion being available? This is where I get stuck. I think the answer is 0. If there had been 300 such tragedies, I think the answer would still be 0. I take this position because no one – not Dr Grimes, not any psychiatrist – has provided me with data suggesting otherwise.
Also, as probably the only person in the country who has waded through the 2011 report of the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (NCCMH), I can say to Dr Grimes that, in his article, he is over-stating the findings, and over-simplifying the contents, of the NCCMH report. The relationship between abortion and mental health is statistically complex, and it is simply ludicrous to explain away conflicting findings as misrepresentation by people with a religious agenda.
Yes, I am Catholic and yes, I abhor the intentional killing of babies, but I also oppose the proposed X case legislation because, scientifically, it does not have a leg to stand on. – Yours, etc,
JIM STACK,
Lismore,
Co Waterford.
Sir, – In his recent article (Opinion, June 26th), David Grimes accuses Breda O’Brien of misrepresenting research and cherry-picking facts regarding the mental health impact of abortion on the basis of her religious views. Ironically, in doing so he manages to conveniently ignore some key facts.
Dr Grimes criticises her “championing of the Fergusson report” but then completely fails to identify any substantive problems with that study, instead going on to cite others that he seems to believe refute O’Brien’s point.
Even here, rather than addressing O'Brien's argument directly, Dr Grimes does what many advocates of abortion legislation have done in this debate – he subtly shifts the ground. He tries to give the impression that her primary argument is that abortion has a deleterious effect on women's mental health. But in her column (Opinion, April 27th), she merely says there is no evidence that having an abortion improves a women's mental health, when compared to carrying a pregnancy to term. All of the studies cited by Dr Grimes agree with this conclusion. It is also true to say, as Breda O'Brien has in the past, that some categories of women, such as those with a history of mental illness, appear to suffer worse mental health outcomes after having had an abortion.
Dr Grimes claims that Breda O’Brien’s opposition to abortion stems from religious faith, not scientific evidence. But if, as the studies suggest, abortion – that is, the killing of an unborn child – has no beneficial effect whatsoever on mental health, and advocates are nonetheless trying to legalise it, the question must be asked: who is operating out of logic and evidence, and who out of blind faith and epistemic closure? – Yours, etc,
BEN CONROY,
Mulvey Park,
Windy Arbour, Dublin 14.
Sir, – It is quite astonishing how many “anti legislators” who have never found themselves in a pregnant state consider themselves able to give an opinion.
No one should give an opinion, other than medical, who has not been in this position. It is entirely an emotional and personal affair regarding the couple involved; and deserves privacy and support for any decisions which require to be made.
TDs talk about living with their conscience, how could it be on their conscience when they are not in a pregnant state? I was once in a position when I had to remind my gynaecologist, a nice man, who told me that I was not pregnant when infact it proved eventually that I was, that there was only one thing wrong with him and his profession: he had never had a baby! – Yours, etc,
XENIA MEATH,
Bray, Co Wicklow.
Sir, – In the abortion leaflet of last Sunday, issued by the Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland (Home News, June 24th), it states, “The Church does not teach that the life of a child in the womb should be preferred to that of a mother”. However, Cardinal Raymond Burke (Home News, June 24th) is quoted as saying, “It is, however, contrary to right reason to hold that an innocent and defenceless human life can be justifiably destroyed in order to save the life of the mother”. I find these two statements worryingly contradictory. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN LOUGHEED,
Arlington Heights,
Killarney, Co Kerry.