Giving politicians a blank cheque on abortion laws

SIR, Since the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has now advised that broadcasters do not have to give 50:50 airtime to the debate about the repeal of the Eighth Amendment, I feel we all should keep in mind the factual information and what is truly at stake.

Repeal will mean giving politicians a blank cheque to make any laws they want on abortion. This referendum is the last chance we’ll have to make our voices known in opposition to abortion. Repeal would leave unborn babies with no protection whatsoever under our laws. Repeal would lead to unrestricted abortion – make no mistake about it. Even Leo Varadkar is not dressing up this fact. The Taoiseach made his comments in Texas when questioned about the upcoming referendum on the Eighth Amendment.

Dr Ruth Cullen of the Pro Life Campaign informed us that the Taoiseach was stating the obvious when he said that unrestricted abortion in the first three months of pregnancy would be in place quickly if repeal happened. His comments show that what is being proposed by the government is abortion on demand and nothing else. If people vote for repeal, what they will get is abortion on demand.

We need to be aware this is not restrictive abortion or a little bit of abortion, though it may be dressed up as such as the campaign progresses while the repeal side try to sanitise the effects and impact of abortion on society.

To protect our most vulnerable, our most precious citizens, we must vote to keep the Eighth Amendment.

Sincerely,

Frances Kelleher, Killarney.