Madam, - In reply to Goretti Horgan's inaccurate and tendentious article (Opinion, September 8th), may I remind your readers of the following indisputable facts?
1. The Women's Right to Choose Group was formed in Dublin in 1980 with the specific aim of securing a repeal of the only legislative prohibition on abortion, the Offences Against the Person Act (1861).
2. The Pro-Life Amendment Campaign formed in response to this challenge in January 1981 decided that the best course to avoid perhaps a decision in a hung Dáil would be to secure a constitutional amendment, believing that a large majority of the Irish people would support it.
3. The campaign lobbied party leaders on April 30th. Dr FitzGerald of Fine Gael gave an immediate pledge to introduce an amendment, on which he later reneged. Mr Charles Haughey, the then Taoiseach, gave a similar pledge, which he kept. The late Frank Cluskey (Labour) did not give a pledge.
The interposition of three general elections delayed the process, but on April 27th, 1983 a Bill proposed by Fianna Fáil, which later became the Eighth Amendment, was carried in the Dáil by 87 votes to 65. The majority comprised 74 FF deputies, 8 FG and 5 Labour. Dr FitzGerald, then Taoiseach, voted against.
Before polling day on September 7th, Mr Haughey mde a broadcast urging a Yes vote, while Dr FitzGerald urged a No vote (by that time the number of Fine Gael deputies indicating that they would vote Yes had increased to 15, including a Cabinet Minister).
On polling day, 66 per cent of those who voted said Yes, with clear majorities in 36 out of the 41 constituencies. The issue remains today, as in the past, between those who hold that human life begins at conception and that abortion involves the taking of life, and those who do not. - Yours, etc.,
CORNELIUS O'LEARY, Emeritus Professor, Vice Chairman, Pro-Life Amendment Campaign (1981-1983), Queen's University, Belfast.
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Madam, - Goretti Horgan, writing about the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, states: "The three main party leaderships were unable to resist pressure from the Pro-Life Amendment Campaign. Fine Gael and Labour soon regretted their acquiescence to the PLAC agenda, but too late."
Frank Cluskey and Dick Spring, the leaders of the Labour Party in 1981-82, met the PLAC delegations. They pointedly and publicly refused to endorse the PLAC constitutional proposal. As deputy leader I was present at those meetings.
In the subsequent three general election campaigns we made our reservations quite clear.
Ms Horgan claims to have been the National Organiser of the Anti-Amendment Campaign, 1982-83. Does she not recall that PLAC and Fianna Fáil assailed Frank Cluskey and Dick Spring for their unequivocal opposition?
My records of the campaign are available to help her to correct her recollection. - Yours, etc.,
BARRY DESMOND, Taney Avenue, Goatstown, Dublin 14.