Good work must not be undone

■ In the Government’s ‘General Scheme of a Bill to Regulate Termination of Pregnancy’, from March 27, 2018, “termination of pregnancy” is defined as “a medical procedure which is intended to end the life of a foetus”, with the definition of “foetus” corresponding to that of an unborn baby.

Intentionally ending a life is incompatible with healthcare founded on the principle, “first, do no harm”.

If the Eighth Amendment – which the Irish people themselves asked to be enshrined into their Constitution in 1983 – was repealed in the referendum tomorrow, for the first time in history the people, and not politicians or lawyers as in other jurisdictions, would have taken away the most fundamental human right (the right to life) from their youngest members.

It would leave them without any legal protection, and would have changed medical practice from one where doctors save and heal wherever possible to one where doctors may sometimes intentionally kill their patients.

The Eighth Amendment must be kept in order to protect unborn life and maintain a high standard of obstetrics and medicine in general.

Having trained and worked as a doctor in many countries (including Germany, France, Canada, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Ireland), I find Ireland – with its strong and palpable pro-life culture – the safest and most enjoyable country to live and work.

Please don’t throw away what you have built.

Dr Ursula Nusgen Chapelizod, Dublin 20