Sir, – The notion that politicians should not have to state where they stand on abortion and the Eighth Amendment, as recently suggested by Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney, is not a good idea ("Abortion debate 'half-informed', says Coveney", December 21st).
The law on abortion concerns the protection of the primary good, that of human life, without which no other human flourishing or potential can be achieved. The good of mothers, the good of vulnerable and dependent children, the nature of medicine as a healing practice, the ethos of the medical profession and that of our hospitals and health system are all at stake. Law and public policy on the matter have definite implications for justice and the common good. For public representatives to rule out engagement on the subject with those they represent is not responsible governance.
The Convention on the Constitution has been referred to as a possible forum for movement on removal or alteration of the Eighth Amendment and the law on abortion and was mentioned by Mr Coveney in his recent This Week interview.
UCD lecturer Dr Eoin Carolan recently wrote in the International Journal of Constitutional Law that the Irish experience in regard to the convention has been oversold. The article looks behind what he calls the "hype" surrounding the body.
The attempt by Mr Coveney to block a straightforward and reasonable line of inquiry by reference instead to the role of this body raises significant questions for the electorate regarding the way in which our parliament and government operate.
It is those who hold seals of office who are responsible in law generally, and those who vote on our laws, such as Senators and TDs, who are responsible morally for the laws which give shape and significance to the regulation of various human activities. The Convention on the Constitution has no such standing or substance.
Citizens of our republic are entitled to speak freely on matters of public concern and to seek to discern the position of their representatives on the constituent parts of the common good.
Of course, they, no more than others, are bound by rules of civility, politeness and reasonableness.
But those who are affected by the law, those who are weak, vulnerable and voiceless, would wish that our public representatives would state clearly where they stand on the matter of protecting the lives of mothers and their unborn children. – Yours, etc,
SEÁN
Mac GIOLLARNÁTH,
Dublin 2.