Citizens’ Assembly didn’t lack information on abortion procedures

SIR, Lee Walsh (Letters, 31st May) is wondering if the Citizens’ Assembly was shown visual coverage of abortion procedures. He may wish to know that all proceedings of the Citizens’ Assembly are available online at www.citizensassembly.ie .

Given that the majority of abortions (55 per cent) in the UK are now medical as opposed to surgical, is he wanting to see a video of a woman taking a tablet? I imagine the tablets look similar to many other medications available over the counter or on prescription, and are identical to the tablets prescribed in Ireland every day to women who have experienced a missed miscarriage (MMC).

The overwhelming majority (40 of the 45 per cent) of surgical abortions take place by vacuum aspiration and before 15 weeks, and a detailed description was provided by Dr. Patrician Lohr in her submission and presentation to the assembly, also available on the website. Visually, the procedure looks similar to other internal gynaecological procedures, such as smear tests and colposcopies. I hope this satisfies Mr. Walsh’s curiosity.

Safety issues in clinics were also raised, but as was pointed out – all medical procedures come with a certain amount of risks. Legal abortions with regulated service providers result in fewer complications than colonoscopies or gall-bladder surgeries and many other common standard medical procedures. Mr. Walsh may also be interested to know that recent US studies show that women are 14 times more likely to die as a result of complications due to pregnancy and birth than due to abortion. Is mise, Emma O’Brien, Togher, Cork.