PAUL BRADY,
Sir, - Archdeacon Gordon Linney is incorrect when he states the abortion referendum proposal will establish an "unequal right to life", to the mother's disadvantage (Rite & Reason, February 12th). The new Bill explicitly safeguards all necessary medical treatment to the pregnant woman, even when it may unavoidably result in the indirect taking of the unborn child's life.
The archdeacon justifies his opposition to the Bill, however, on the ground that it is based on a "deliberate exclusion of mental ill-health" which "violates a fundamental Christian view of the person as a unity of body, mind and spirit". This is also incorrect. Rather, the proposal recognises the professional opinions expressed at the all-party Oireachtas hearings that the destruction of the unborn is not an appropriate treatment for mental illness, and can in fact increase the likelihood of the woman committing suicide later in life.
The archdeacon suggests that based on what the Old Testament decrees ". . . there is a difference in value between a mother-to-be and a foetus". I look forward to how he will incorporate other Old Testament decrees, such as the stoning of women for adultery, into the current abortion debate. Or is he perhaps being a little selective in his citing of Sacred Scripture? While providing us with ancient Biblical law, the archdeacon was silent on the modern medical research which shows the serious harm that an abortion can cause to the "body, mind and spirit" of a woman. - Yours, etc.,
PAUL BRADY, Belmont Avenue, Donnybrook, Dublin 4.
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Sir, - As a feminist, I have never been more disgusted with an advertising campaign than with Labour's posters advocating a No vote in the abortion referendum.
"Let's trust women - protect women's right to life - vote no." This is a disingenuous and cheap attempt to scare people into voting No and allowing widespread abortion in this county.
I am a Leaving Certificate student and believe, from listening to what all the leading medical and psychiatric experts in this country have to say, that deliberate abortion is never necessary to save women's lives. All the medical treatment needed to save a woman's life is allowed under the referendum. Ireland has the best record in caring for pregnant women in the world without having the extensive abortion regime that Labour wishes dearly for.
Labour have conveniently disregarded all the evidence from both Britain and the US, where many women have died as a direct result of abortion procedures and many more suffer long-term consequences of abortion such as post-abortion syndrome and other physical problems.
It's time Labour started to really care for women and offered them choices other than abortion, which only damages and betrays women - Yours, etc.,
MARY DILLON, Ballymahon, Co Longford.
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Sir, - In the course of three recent programmes on the abortion referendum, RTÉ has given an interesting insight into how it handles pluralism.
On each occasion, it allocated equal time to the Yes side and to the No side, represented broadly by the Pro-Life Campaign and the Alliance for a No Vote. The programmes might then be said to be "reasonably balanced".
However, allowing equal expression to the two sides of an argument is only part of the story. There must be internal balance also, i.e., permitting expression to the main elements, at least, within each side. Otherwise, particularly in a monopoly situation, a broadcaster would still be able to influence the direction of the national debate by selecting voices least damaging to a favoured cause. There is European case law which supports the concept of internal balance.
This is particularly relevant in the current circumstances. The Pro-Life Campaign (PLC) does not represent all views on the pro-life side. There is, in fact, a body of pro-life opinion, which I believe to be substantial, which is opposed to the PLC-endorsed proposals.
Yet there was no one on any occasion to speak for this viewpoint, except their opponents!
RTÉ is under a legal obligation to be fair and impartial. It does not have a right to exclude views which may be inconvenient either to RTÉ, or to parties they are more accustomed to dealing with. - Yours, etc.,
DONAL O'DRISCOLL, Dargle Road, Blackrock, Co Dublin.