Sir, – Senator Ivana Bacik (January 2nd) agrees that language is very important in the abortion debate. She follows this by accusing pro-life people of seeking to deny “life-saving medical treatment to pregnant women”. This is an example of language being used to confuse. No pro-life person seeks to deny such treatment to women. On the contrary: we call for the continuation of current medical practice where mothers receive all necessary treatments in pregnancy, even those that unintentionally and unavoidably result in the death of the baby.
The pro-choice lobby has used the tragic case of Savita Halappanavar, the full facts of which we still do not know, to suggest that women in Ireland do not receive necessary treatments in pregnancy. No mention has been made of the maternal deaths due to sepsis in the UK each year where abortion is widely available. Pro-choice people further ignore Ireland’s record as one of the safest places in the world in which to be pregnant. In so doing, they do a gross disservice to this country and to the Irish medical profession.
To clarify, pro-life people take a stand against the direct targeting of unborn human life where the intention is to end the baby’s life.
Ms Bacik was unequivocal on one point: it is her intention to campaign for liberal and wide-reaching abortion laws once any form of abortion is legislated for. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – The only convincing arguments I have seen regarding the abortion debate are pro-choice. Abortion is a human rights issue but it is not as simple as protecting the unborn, which I am in favour of. It is about dealing with the facts as they stand. Irish women travelling for abortions, or swallowing pills of unknown origin purchased online, put themselves at risk. Is it not the duty of the State to protect all its citizens? There is a role for pro-life groups in reducing the incidence, but taking a stand against abortion is not realistic in its aspirations. In the interest of women’s health, we need to return the 1983 constitutional amendment to the people and make a mature decision as a nation. – Is mise,
Sir, – Ken Mawhinney (January 2nd) unfairly criticises Breda O’Brien for over-focusing on the issue of abortion in recent columns. Breda O’Brien is my favourite Irish Times columnist and she has written sensitively and insightfully on a large range of issues even over the last three months: primary school patronage, celebrating Halloween, the human face of austerity, St Patrick’s Institution, reform of the Junior Cert, cyber bullying, children in asylum accommodation centres, the influence of Ayn Rand’s writings.
Given the huge importance of the issue of abortion for Ireland, I very much welcome Ms O’Brien’s enlightened perspective on the issue and hope that she continues to write about it in the coming months. – Yours, etc,