Sir, - The campaign to extend the British 1967 Abortion Act to Northern Ireland was highlighted in a report in your edition of January 18th. In European terms one usually thinks of only wealthy people crossing borders to avail of healthcare, usually to find a more exclusive version of what they can get at home. In the case of Irish women seeking pregnancy terminations, women of all economic backgrounds must raise money to travel and pay for a private procedure in another jurisdiction because they cannot get a basic procedure at home. No government department has given much thought to how these women go about their journey or raise money.
The Irish Abortion Solidarity Campaign was founded in London around the time of the "X" case and is currently working to support the all-party parliamentary pro-choice group at Westminster whose brief includes extension to Northern Ireland of a reformed version of 1967 UK Abortion Act. Since 1967 thousands of Irish women both North and South have availed of the provisions of this Act; the statistics alone are evidence that prohibition does not work. Many members of IASC have direct experience of accommodating and arranging financial support for many hundreds of these women over the last two decades. We are the only country in Europe that makes temporary migrants out of women seeking a reproductive right available to citizens of other states. - Yours, etc., Ann Rossiter,
Irish Abortion Solidarity Campaign, London WC1.