Sir, – I write to comment on Amnesty's open letter to governments signed by 838 medical doctors from 44 countries calling for the decriminalisation of abortion ("Doctors call for decriminalisation of abortion", November 20th).
This letter describes the genuine difficulties faced by pregnant women who want an abortion, and by doctors, in countries where abortion is illegal.
However, two principals are involved in every abortion scenario, the pregnant woman and the developing baby, and the doctors’ letter only addresses the problems faced by the pregnant woman. I would like to see these 838 doctors write a second letter, this time addressing the problem from the point of view of the foetus.
I would ask the doctors to explain how they justify killing a developing and defenceless human life, what their thoughts are on post-20-week gestation abortion, and what their thoughts are on abortion rates in countries where abortion is freely available such as in the UK where, despite universally available contraception, 21 per cent of all conceptions end in abortion.
I would also like to see another letter written and signed by 838 pro-life doctors. I would ask these doctors to justify why they are against abortion in genuinely hard cases such as rape, incest and fatal foetal abnormality. I would also ask them to explain, in the absence of abortion, how they propose caring for women in these conditions who want an abortion. – Yours, etc,
WILLIAM REVILLE,
Waterfall, Cork.
Sir, – Your paper’s recent coverage of Amnesty’s latest attempt to corral the Irish people into accepting its pro-abortion agenda was truly alarming.
To Amnesty I say this, you are breaking our hearts. Where once we looked up to you, now we cry for a wounded and broken friend. – Yours, etc,
DAVID MULLINS,
Arklow,
Co Wicklow.