Sir, - In her latest contribution to the abortion debate, Medb Ruane tells us that Ireland "won't educate its people" on this subject (June 8th). In a previous piece she bemoans "the absence of honest, factual, non-judgmental information". However, her highly selective use of statistics shows that she is not willing to lead by example in this area.
She states that "Some 79 per cent of recent poll respondents believe that in some cases, abortion should be available within this jurisdiction". She does not tell us that this poll was conducted on behalf of Abortion Reform nor does she explain what is meant by "some cases ".
In fact, the poll respondents were asked whether they thought abortion should be allowed in any of seven possible circumstances, including "when the woman's life is at risk by the continuation of the pregnancy". This result is therefore entirely unsurprising and far from representing a call for change, it can be more reliably interpreted as a powerful endorsement of current practice.
As for those who think abortion should not be available under these circumstances, I would suggest that it is likely that most answered No not because they would leave the expectant mother to die but because they object to the abuse of the word "abortion" when referring to life saving treatment which results in the unintentional death of the unborn child.
It is clear that some questions in this poll were deliberately constructed to mask any resistance to abortion encountered among the respondents. However, this did not prevent a much more startling response from shining through. Only 6 per cent of those questioned thought that abortion should be allowed for reasons such as family size, economic and social circumstances. This is an unequivocal rejection of abortion on demand, as practiced in Britain (with the exception of Northern Ireland). Ms. Ruane did not refer to this finding in her article.
Referring to the availability to Irish women of British abortion facilities, Ms. Ruane has informed us that "As a result of Government neglect, the abortion rate is now one in 10 of all pregnancies". I am unaware of the source or accuracy of this figure, which is used to argue that there is little point in retaining our existing legislation when so many are bypassing it by travelling elsewhere. However, I have not seen Ms. Ruane pointing out that the abortion rate in England and Wales runs at almost three times this figure (approximately 2.95, based on 1998 statistics).
Of course, the depressing reality that abortion is used as a casual form of birth control on such a scale makes for much less compelling reading than the relentless focus on rape, incest and the ever present oppression and victimisation of noble women by misogynistic males. - Yours, etc.,
Gavin Lacy, Castle Riada Avenue, Lucan, Co Dublin.