Sir, - Eimear Coffey (June 12th) takes issue with the Pro-Life Campaign for linking the passage of the 1995 Abortion Information Act with our rising abortion rate. Since 1995 the number of Irish women travelling to Britain for abortions has risen by over 37 per cent. The Act, which made it legal to provide the names and addresses of abortion clinics, and for clinics to advertise in Ireland, has singularly failed in the then Minister for Health's state intention of reducing abortions.
This contrasts sharply with the evidence of the Caring Foundation in the US which shows that when the conditions pressurising women towards abortion are addressed, the rate can be slowed and even reversed. The number of abortions performed in Nebraska dropped by 11.2 per cent last year.
It is in the interest of both women and the unborn that we reflect on such findings in a calm and responsible manner, without recourse to unnecessary rancour. - Yours, etc.,
Ruth Cullen, Spokesperson, Pro-Life Campaign. Gardiner Street Upper, Dublin 1.