Sir, – How many more women need to be dragged through the courts before abortion law on this island is reformed? The latest case concerns a young woman, prosecuted and convicted, who now bears a criminal record because she could not afford to travel out of Northern Ireland to terminate her pregnancy ("Woman gets jail sentence for buying abortion pills", Front Page, April 5th).
In this jurisdiction, our law on abortion is even more restrictive than in Northern Ireland, because of the chilling effect of the Eighth Amendment. It is long past time for repeal of the amendment.
In its place, we need to introduce sensible, compassionate legislation allowing for legal abortion, so that no more women or girls have to go through the appalling circumstances that gave rise to this week’s case. – Yours, etc,
IVANA BACIK,
Seanad Éireann,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2.