That is not the Palestine that I recognise...
I WAS astonished to read Desmond Fitzgerald’s description of Palestine and Palestinian society (Letters, Wednesday) as nothing could be further from the truth.
I have been there many times and can assure him that there is freedom of religion – most Palestinians are secular, many are Muslim and a small minority are Christian – there is no Sharia law, and there is freedom of the press.
The real cause of Palestinian anger is that what was until 1947/8 their land was conquered by Israeli military force, their villages mostly destroyed, and the Palestinian population displaced as refugees.
A substantial number remained in the West Bank and Gaza, but in these areas they have been subjected to a brutal Israeli military occupation in recent years.
I have watched with my own eyes the forcible confiscation of their land, the arrest and detention without trial of men, women and children, and Israeli military checkpoints throughout the West Bank preventing Palestinians from going about their lawful business. They have continued their lives as best they can with non-violent and steadfast deliberation.
They are a lovely people: caring, friendly and welcoming. I have idea how they do it. DR MICHAEL BARNES,
Watford, England.
Why I’m voting Yes
I HAVE advanced renal cell cancer. Last September, with amazing support and a huge national media campaign, I got access to the drug Nivolumab with the aim of extending my life.
I know the feelings of fear, frustration and sorrow at the prospect of being denied the treatment I needed. That’s why I am writing this, because I know that the Eighth Amendment has a real impact on the medical care available to women.
Dr Louise Kenny, a professor of obstetrics, is clear that she has personally witnessed care denied for cancer treatment to pregnant women. The Protection of Life in Pregnancy Act only protects women whose life is in immediate risk and doesn’t consider the consequences of deferred treatment. In my fortnightly oncology appointments in Dublin I have had nurses and doctors express to me their support for repeal. If you have any doubt read the testimonies in In Her Shoes – Women Of The Eighth on Facebook. You’ll find women with cancer, with cystic fibrosis, victims of rape and sexual abuse, coerced to continue pregnancies that endanger their physical and mental health, or forced to travel abroad for terminations.
Women whose foetuses have fatal abnormalities are being forced abroad in the cruellest of circumstances. Pregnant women should have the right to be offered the same care that a man would be offered.
‘No’ posters offer a view of a section of a woman’s body, the uterus, women shown only as ‘hosts’. Where are these whole living women? Where are their lives, their families, their friends, their careers? This view of women is chillingly indifferent to the nuances of real life. Is there really such a disregard for women’s lives in this country?
Please vote Yes to removing the Eighth Amendment.