A chara, – I refer to the archbishops’ call for a free vote by TDs and Senators on the forthcoming legislation (Front page, December 19th).
While it may be welcome to some, it is unnecessary. Any, or indeed all, TDs and Senators can defy the party whip and vote against the proposal. The price they will pay for salving their consciences and/or the wishes of local electors is to be excluded from the party.
A price worth paying? – Is mise,
A chara, – If the Irish bishops were truly serious about stopping abortion in this country they would state church teaching and declare that any politician, or media person for that matter, who promotes abortion in any way is automatically excommunicated from the Catholic Church, and as such is not entitled to receive Holy Communion or a Christian burial. – Is mise,
Sir, – It was most interesting to read of the expressed wish of the Roman Catholic archbishops that TDs should act and vote according to their individual conscience (Front page, December 19th).
It would be delightful if they allowed their own flock to voice and act on their own minds in all their respective matters of conscience, such as family planning.
The archbishops seem to be treading into a risky area – freedom of choice according to individual conscience for TDs but not for the rest of the flock is logically indefensible. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – A number of commentators and letter writers have been offended by the suggestion that women cannot be always trusted on suicide as a grounds for abortion. To these, I would posit the following question: if your own life was on the line, would you be similarly confident? – Is mise,
Sir, – Catholic TDs now have no option but to “disobey” Enda Kenny’s attempted moral dictatorship. “There will be no free vote on this”, he says.
Abortion is a most grave moral evil and crime. Catholic TDs must face down Mr Kenny and his agenda-led associates. They must vote No to Mr Kenny’s diktat. The man who sat and fiddled with his phone, in the presence of Peter’s Successor, who “played to the gallery” and twisted the Holy Father’s words in wake of the Cloyne Report, must now be clearly told that he has lost the confidence of Ireland’s faithful Catholics. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Eoghan Murphy TD advocates a free vote in the Dáil on the abortion issue.This is commendable and I agree with him, up to a point, but as long as the free vote is confined to only one party (in this case Fine Gael) then true democracy is not being adhered to.
May I suggest that deputy Murphy contact the whips of all the parties in the Dáil and urge them to let their members vote according to their consciences? The whip system in the Dáil is far too rigid and is diluting democracy. Take a look across the water where free votes are very common – there is one coming up soon on the issue of same-sex marriage – and the political world has not stopped revolving as a result. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – So it appears that after many long years of disgraceful inaction on the issue, Ireland’s politicians are set to legislate for the X case.
However, the Government deserves no slap on the back for merely doing what we would expect any government to do, namely vindicating the constitutional rights of the people. This victory against the forces of conservatism, cruelty and hypocrisy should be celebrated, but it must not be used by those same forces as a smokescreen.
Even with this legislation women will not be free to exercise complete control over their bodies, or over when and whether they reproduce. Efforts must then be redoubled to secure for all Irish women the right to abortion on demand and the right to freely choose termination of unwanted pregnancies if they so wish. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Chris McGrohan (December 18th) is right that anyone can quote selectively from scripture to support any given position. However, the Ten Commandments seem to be pretty much written “in stone”.
Bearing in mind the many nebulous terms used to describe what was previously known as an unborn baby (ie, an embryo, a crisis pregnancy, a preborn, a mass of cells, a potential human being), maybe that worthy tome Fifty Shades of Grey should be used as the template for all further discussion on the right to life! – Yours, etc,
A chara, – Orla O’Connor describes abortion not only as a right but as a “critical right” (Opinion, December 17th). It should be stressed that she is writing an opinion piece; therefore what she is really saying is that in her opinion there should be a right to an abortion.
Despite her hyperbole, there is no right to an abortion. There is, however, a right to life. This is a fundamental right, a right without which no other rights can exist. Her opinion that abortion is a right is simply an expression of her belief that the most basic right of all may be denied to some. – Is mise,
Sir, – I find it remarkable that the archbishops, so utterly slow and inadequate with their public utterances on the child abuse issue, are so fast to find their voices on the abortion issue. À la carte PR. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Those opposed to the Government’s plans to legislate for the X case really need to get a dose of reality. Abortion on demand up to 24 weeks pregnancy is fully available to Irish women in numerous clinics less than two hours’ travel from Dublin, Waterford, Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Mayo. Thanks to low- cost airlines the cost of such travel is often less than the train fare from Cork to Dublin. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – UN rapporteur Anand Grover says (December 18th) in the context of the deaths of Savita Halappanavar and of her child,“You cannot afford to lose people’s lives like this. It would not have happened in India”.
According to the CIA there was a maternal mortality rate in 2010 in Ireland of 6 per 100,000 live births while the rate in India was 200.
No doubt, Mr Grover is even more “particularly concerned about” his native country than he is about Ireland. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – It is incredible that we seem to be delegating to politicians the power to decide on how conflicts between the respective rights of the mother and the unborn child are to be resolved.
This matter will, as much as any other, define the type of society we cherish. We do not have the right to delegate it.
Leaving it to others is the cowardly option. There is no doubt a referendum will be divisive. But it is better to have the courage to face that than renege on our responsibilities. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – As a young gay man I will never know the challenge that women face when considering abortion. This is an issue that poses the right of an individual to self-determination against whether the unborn has equal or less rights than the individual. This issue challenges the capacity of the moral conscience.
Why do we think that women will not consider the deep philosophical, spiritual and moral implications? Women deserve better. They deserve the right and responsibility of choice. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – I hope that the abortion debate will be conducted in a respectful manner.
Hard questions need to be answered, regarding how much can we expect from emotionally vulnerable women in relation to proceeding with an unwanted pregnancy and also what moral standards we want to uphold in society regarding respecting the life of the born and unborn.
Surely the best we can hope for in the end, is that we are all a little uncomfortable but content that we have done the right thing. – Yours, etc,