Sir, - With regard to the assertion by Dr Loughran ("Clinic Director advocates more information on family planning", November 13th) that "improved methods of fertility control and proper education would bring down the abortion rate", I would contend that this is simply not borne out by the facts.
Denmark, a country of comparable size in terms of population, if not demographics, to our own, has an abortion rate of 18 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 (Jennifer Gunning, International Information, HMSO, London). This is considerably higher than even the most liberal "guesstimates" of six per 1,000 for the Irish rate quoted by some commentators. This same report further notes that the Danish abortion law is "reinforced by a strong programme of compulsory sex education in schools with pupils, having the opportunity to visit a contraceptive counselling clinic as part of their programme".
In light of this, I would question Dr Loughran's logic and must therefore conclude that his assertion that contraception reduces the abortion rate is quite wrong. In fact, if anything, the comprehensive report compiled by Ms Gunning indicates that quite the opposite is true. More worrying, perhaps, is the fact that these false claims so often appear to go unchallenged. - Yours, etc.,
Castletroy,
Limerick.