Abortion would hit waiting lists

■ Let me get this right: Eilish O’Regan’s article ‘Second man is left distressed at 2024 hospital appointment’ (Irish Independent, February 28) states that the waiting time to be seen at St Vincent’s Hospital’s neurology department is between three months and 18 months, yet our Health Minister Simon Harris is promoting that we, as a nation, change our Constitution to allow the provision of abortion on demand of unborn babies up to three months (12 weeks) of age with, presumably, no waiting list system.

We can fast-track a procedure of one type, yet others seeking treatments are left waiting!

If the Eighth Amendment was to be repealed, by 2024 there would have been quite a lot of innocent babies’ lives ended by abortion, while Matthew Cahill might have just secured his long-awaited appointment for his distressing neurological symptoms, or perhaps not, as the public would have had to endure even longer hospital waiting times to cater for the increased pressure abortion would have brought on our inadequate healthcare system.

The national outpatient list is now more than 500,000 people, with an approximate annual abortion rate for Ireland of up to 5,000. The prioritising of abortion legislation and the subsequent resources required to facilitate such a service in our public

health system is not in any way justified by the figures. Helena Byrne

Bunclody, Co Wexford