Sir, - I refer to Mrs Mary Stewart's letter of July 3rd. I wonder if Mrs Stewart has suffered the loss of a child through miscarriage. I hope not. The grief following the loss is indescribable and lasts for a very long time (in some cases, I suspect, for the remainder of one's life). I suffered two miscarriages following the birth of my first child over 30 years ago. Happily, a second child was eventually safely carried to full term.
A few years after the birth of my second child and while living in England, I joined the staff of a Catholic school. One day, I entered a room used as a general meeting place for parents and public to be confronted with horrific photographs of foetuses at various stages of abortion, accompanied by graphic explanations of what happens during an abortion. I was stunned and sickened, and it made me very angry at the insensitivity and tunnel vision of those who had devised the campaign.
I would ask the pro-life lobby to consider that not all of us who lose our unborn children choose to do so; and for those women and girls who do make the decision to abort, I am certain it is not a decision taken lightly. Having been fortunate in having two healthy children, and now grandchildren, I thought I had buried my feelings of grief over something that happened so long ago. The recent campaign by the pro-life lobbyists has brought it back to me as though it were yesterday. I would ask them to think about this.
I agree with Sorcha Brett (July 3rd) that the pro-life groups do themselves no favours whatsoever with the manner in which they conduct their campaigns. - Yours, etc.,
Mrs Rita Moore, Westport, Co Mayo.