Right to life is most basic right of all

Sir — It is poor form of Gene Kerrigan (Sunday Independent, April 1) to call “sneering gladiators” those fighting to retain protection for unborn babies in our Constitution through retaining the Eighth Amendment — the only protection actually for them, as confirmed by seven Judges of the Supreme Court recently.

By his reference to ‘beacons of Catholicism’, he is trying to reduce the issue of abortion to a Catholic one when, in fact, the right to life is the most basic human right of all, without which no other right can apply.

When ‘personal choice’ is allowing the choice to deliberately kill a baby through abortion, it surely demands that such can never be the case without protests from all who value human life.

Most bizarrely, he suggests that those who oppose abortion, should seek to have women prevented from travelling to access abortion outside the country. No one is in favour of in any way impeding any women travelling for whatever reason, and that was made perfectly clear at the time of the referendum.

As Irish citizens, we can only be responsible for what happens in our country and what is supported by our taxes and I certainly never intend to vote to permit my money being used to kill unborn babies.

Interestingly enough, Mr Kerrigan quotes Michael Finlan from The Irish Times in 1992 suggesting that those opposed to abortion seemed as though they were ‘acquiescing’ in whatever activity the women engage in when they reach England. ‘Just as long as it doesn’t happen in Holy Ireland’. Well, times haven’t changed much for that paper since 1992 with its campaign for legalising abortion here, but what nonsense to suggest that we in Ireland are responsible for the actions of those who travel over to England on any pretext.

Regarding ‘draconian penalties’ for carrying out an illegal abortion, it should be noted that in England the penalty is life imprisonment.

No, Mr Kerrigan, for people in pro-life, location is not the issue. Abortion, the deliberate killing of the baby in the womb, can never be acceptable, no matter where it is carried out.

This referendum is taking place in Ireland, where we are responsible for ensuring that laws are retained which give equal right to life to both mother and baby and there is no denying of life to the most defenceless of all, the unborn baby.

Finally, as Ireland has a much lower maternal death rate than countries which have legalised abortion, such as Britain, why should we repeal the Eighth Amendment.

Every assistance is provided by pro-life groups for those with crises pregnancies, apart from killing their babies.

Perhaps it needs to be pointed out that the Eighth Amendment simply prohibits the deliberate killing of the baby. What is objectionable in that? Mary Stewart (Mrs), Ardeskin, Donegal Town

Our unborn babies deserve better

Sir — In Gene Kerrigan’s Soapbox (Sunday Independent, April 1), he emphasised the alleged distortion of facts by pro-lifers in their support for the Eighth Amendment and ends his article with the assertion that we Irish should face reality, like the rest of the world.

Here are some unassailable facts, neither of which he chooses to mention.

From the moment of conception, as any embryologist or the preponderance of medical scientists will confirm, the unborn child is a unique human being with his/her own unique DNA and blood-type that may be different from that of his/her mother. These are the voiceless, vote-less, vulnerable, completely innocent human beings that Gene, and pro-abortionists, choose to ignore in their arguments.

Surely we should learn from the findings of various UK governmental investigations into Britain’s now 40-year-old abortion scenario; where about one in five babies is aborted; where over 80pc of Down Syndrome babies are routinely aborted; where the law has been knowingly flouted, where abortion has increasingly become a form of contraception: where it is proposed that teenagers may get an abortion without their parents’ consent?

Does Gene Kerrigan really think Irish women will be any different if the Eighth Amendment is repealed?

So embedded is abortion in UK society that Dr Wendy Savage, a retired obstetrician and gynaecologist and member of the British Medical Council, favours sex-selection abortion i.e. where the sex of the unborn babies — usually baby girls — is sufficient to obtain an abortion.

Is that the sort of liberal abortion regime we want? Are we going to vote in such a liberal abortion regime based on the very sad, emotive circumstances of less than one per cent of pregnancies i.e. fatal foetal abnormalities and pregnancy resulting from rape? Our women and unborn children deserve better! With Europe’s highest birth rate, let’s cherish our unborn children, not abort them. James Maher,

Mullingar, Co Westmeath

Writer Kerrigan loses ‘magic’ touch

Sir — I’ve just been reading Gene Kerrigan’s column (Soapbox, Sunday Independent, April 1) as I’ve done for many years. I would say in all those years I have disagreed with him, maybe once, possibly twice but no more. I have always found him to be an exceptionally elegant and articulate writer. Also, he has not been afraid to stand up for the poor, downtrodden, homeless and those forgotten about by the politicians. In short, the voiceless.

Unfortunately, in last week’s column he did a complete 360-degree turn on his principles where the most important voiceless were concerned, the unborn. I have expected Mr Kerrigan to write a column on the Eighth Amendment, but I expected it to be more balanced on this of all subjects, but that didn’t happen. To say I’m disappointed would be a huge understatement. I will continue to read and enjoy Mr Kerrigan’s column every Sunday, but unfortunately some of the magic will have been taken out of it. I hope he can bring it back. Patrick Duffy,

Limerick

Politics retreating into distant past

Sir — Jody Corcoran’s article (Sunday Independent, April 1) highlighting the impact that the defeat of the abolition of the Eighth Amendment referendum might have on the result of the next election is interesting.

There is, indeed, a distinct possibility that the referendum will be defeated, Micheal Martin will be Taoiseach after the next election and Mary Lou McDonald will be Tanaiste.

The whole tone of the democratic discourse at the moment, with the threat of a hard Brexit in the background, is one of retreating into the past.

What better way could we return to the past than by reaffirming the 1983 referendum and by re-electing the political grouping that won every election between 1987 and 2007.

With the UK vote for Brexit effectively tearing up the Good Friday Agreement, including the hard-line nationalist grouping in Government with them will also hark back to the pre-1998 days.

In addition, it will challenge the voters of the UK, who also harked back to the past when they voted for Brexit. A Leavy, Dublin 13