Points to address

A Eagarthóir, I acknowledge the letter from Ms Fionnuala Sarsfield (The Kerryman, February 28). I wish to comment briefly on some of the points that she has made.

I have never felt sufficiently ‘perfect’ to call any woman or man immoral. I would further state that people are not immoral but sometimes an individual’s actions can be immoral when judged against objective norms.

Neither have I ever met any person who said or implied that deciding to have an abortion was an easy decision. I have, however, met many who express real concern for the child that has been aborted. That is so because many of us believe that a human being exists from the moment of conception and we believe that life is sacred from that moment until natural death.

I’m not sure why some people continue to write of the late Savita Halappanavar when advocating abortion. I know that her terribly sad death upset many of us but three separate investigations into the cause of her passing stated very specifically that her death was caused by sepsis as a result of medical misadventure.

I am grateful that Ms Sarsfield seems to be counting me among the ranks of those deserving of the title ‘gentleman’ but I would have thought that the use of ageism would be an anathema to her.

Le Gach Dea-Ghuí, Michael Gleeson (Cllr), Clasheen, Killarney.