A chara, – Breda O'Brien states that "we now know that abortion increases the risk of suicide" (Opinion, December 18th), citing Mika Gissler's 2005 article in the European Journal of Public Health. The moral, ethical, medical and legal dilemmas raised by abortion are among the most complex our society has to face, and the "link" between abortion and suicide is no exception to this.
Gissler and colleagues did indeed find that, in Finland, post-abortive women were more likely to die from suicide compared to women who had recently given birth, and compared to the non-pregnant female population. However, many other factors are at play here. For example, the study also found that women younger than 25 who suffered from a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy were at an increased risk of death due to homicide. How do we explain an ectopic pregnancy “causing” homicide? Clearly we can’t – a simplistic cause-and-effect model is of no use here, as there are numerous other factors at play, factors that this study was not designed to detect.
Dr Gissler has conducted many studies into this issue, but has never concluded that all women are at risk of suicide after an abortion, or that these deaths could not have been prevented by better post-abortion medical care.
As many commentators have pointed out, the recent European Court of Human Rights judgment compels us to enact legislation mandated by our own Supreme Court regarding abortion in very specific circumstances. It will not do much to reduce the number of Irish women travelling abroad for abortions.
Unplanned pregnancies and teenage pregnancies are increasing, and whatever the outcome of these pregnancies, this is not a satisfactory state of affairs. I don’t believe anybody thinks that high abortion rates are desirable. While we debate equity of access to abortion services and the necessity of post-abortion care, we would all be satisfied if the number of women requiring an abortion were greatly reduced. Education – by parents and teachers, including Ms O’Brien – is key to preventing these unplanned pregnancies from occurring. We must ensure that the entire population is aware of, and has access to, adequate means of contraception.
Rather than focusing on the differences between the “pro-life” and “pro-choice” points of view, we can find common ground in this shared goal. Surely this is better than engaging in the same vindictive debate year after year? – Is mise,
Madam, – Following upon the ruling from Europe are we now to expect the clamour from those who would espouse to protect the rights of the unborn child? The State and its various arms including the church and HSE have failed for years to protect the rights of the born child, not only in failing to protect those children but, in many cases actually failing to ensure their right to innocence and to life itself. Having lived through previous abortion referendums I hope to be spared the expected bombardment of craw- thumping hypocrisy. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Here we go again. Betwixt A, B, C and X cases there will soon be another referendum for bloodletting or life. We have very short attention spans and a penchant for dismissing the past.
Here, I recall the case of nurse Cadden who was sentenced to death circa 1955 for the commission of a felony (abortion) because it resulted in the death of the mother. The sentence was commuted and the convicted abortionist died after many years in, above all places, Dundrum. I was a young lad then, and vividly remember reading the story in The Irish Times spread out on the floor.
As a pathologist in the US I have been exposed to the abortion business and its gory mess for several years. In this university town there have been, by best estimates, in excess of 125,000 abortions at various stages of pregnancy and for various reasons, mostly trivial. Recently, there was an attempt to establish a late-term abortion centre and it failed because of public outrage.
The danger of introducing abortion into a country and its hospitals is that apart from killing human life forms, the practice feeds on itself and then there are no bounds and no limits. However, I fear that, after the next round, Europe will eventually exact its pound of flesh. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I find the arguments about the right to life in this country extremely hypocritical considering that once you are born, your right to life becomes less and less. Our country prides itself on the right to life from the moment of conception, or so numerous politicians, religious types and pro-lifers would have us believe.
However this year, when I was in the throes of a deeply traumatic miscarriage, the medical care both I and my child (since this is what our Constitution would seem to consider a 12-week-old foetus) received was deeply lacking. As I read Breda O’Brien’s piece (Opinion, December 18th), particularly that part about the lack of post medical care and counselling the women concerned received, I felt very depressed.
What Ms O’Brien fails to understand is that women in this country who do continue with their pregnancies, and are unfortunate enough to miscarry, suffer the exact same lack of medical care and counselling. Indeed they are left to pick up the pieces all by themselves and there is no help for them, and no consideration given to their lost child.
Furthermore, if a woman does manage to bear a child, that child is not guaranteed any decent level of education, health care or indeed even employment. In fact, if a child in this country happens to be born into a certain class and live in a certain postcode, they are almost certain to fail in life before they have even started.
To all those beating their breasts about the right to life of a child, I would suggest that they put as much passion into fixing our society so that it gives our children the lives they deserve. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – “Life-saving abortion services”? (Julie Kay, Opinion, December 20th) – Yours, etc,