Assessing impact of repealing Eighth

Sir — The debate on Brexit recently has been described as a debacle (dictionary: an utter failure, or disaster). As one commentator put it, “there has been no impact assessment”. The UK government, and the public who voted to leave the EU, had no idea of the implications of that decision. Adam Boulton, speaking on RTE on December 11 about the mess that’s been created over Ireland’s position, said it had been “overlooked and underestimated”.

I can’t help comparing this to the tragic potential of repealing the Eighth Amendment.

Our Minister for Children, Katherine Zappone, wants abortion up to 12 weeks on demand, and also “available to any woman or girl who needed a later abortion without her having to prove her case”.

This is supporting a ‘freefor-all situation’ similar to the UK where 98pc of abortions are carried out for social reasons, and one in five pregnancies ends in abortion, despite the 1967 law which intended it for restrictive reasons. There is no way of holding back the tide of killing pre-born babies in the future if we vote to repeal the Eighth.

Is this the best we can do for those who find themselves in crisis pregnancies? There are groups who are there to give non-judgmental help and support, eg Gianna Care, Rachel’s Vineyard, Women Hurt.

Do we really want this for Ireland’s future, where the humanity and rights of the unborn baby are voted away with no appreciation of the benefits those babies can bring to society? Ethel Hudson,

Cabra, Dublin 7