Protect lives of both mother and child

Sir — Gene Kerrigan (Soapbox, Sunday Independent, May 13) uses the same one-sided arguments favoured by many Irish journalists since the 1980s — abortion is a private choice for the woman rather than an issue of the right to life of the unborn, therefore those who oppose abortion (like Carol Nolan TD) are anti-choice and believe in exporting our problems to Britain.

Britain’s radical abortion law has had a huge impact in Ireland but I think that we can be proud of our resistance, particularly through the Eighth Amendment, to the introduction of similar legislation here. Having lived at various times in both Britain and France, I can testify that debate on abortion in those countries has been largely closed down by the media since liberal abortion laws were passed.

The only question permitted for discussion now is whether there are problems in the access of women to the abortion ‘‘services’’ to which they are entitled in law while the question of the legal rights of the unborn is largely ignored.

This seems to be the outcome that Mr Kerrigan desires for Ireland, too. Retention of the Eighth Amendment will allow us to continue to protect the lives of both mothers and children. Tim O’Sullivan, Rathfarnham,

Dublin 14