Sir, - I wish to make an observation on two letters, one from Susan Philips and the other from Brendan and Catriona Lynch (June 23rd).
I agree with Susan Philips when she asserts that the unborn child ought to be granted the same rights and dignity as the rest of us. But all the law can do is establish a principle; it cannot help individual women who find themselves with an unplanned pregnancy. If the Government is serious about reducing the number of Irish women seeking abortions in England, it must tackle the issues that cause women to opt for abortion - in particular the issue of poverty.
We in Life Pregnancy Care Service are finding that many women are opting for abortion because single motherhood is perceived as a life of poverty. The lone parent allowance is not adequate to support mother and child and yet if a woman seeks employment she is penalised. Furthermore childcare facilities are practically non-existent and if she succeeds in finding a suitable babysitter the cost is prohibitive. The Government needs to rethink its policy on taxation and the provision of subsidised creches as well as making special provision for single parents who wish to return to the workforce.
Single parents deserve every break they can get. By virtue of the fact that they are single parents, with a single income, they will never be able to avail of all the incentives offered to two-income families in the last Budget. Single women in a crisis pregnancy should not have to choose abortion simply because to choose motherhood confines them to years of poverty.
Brendan and Catriona Lynch are right when they state that single-income families are left out in the cold but I would add that single-parent families are even further out still! - Yours, etc.,
Julia Heffernan, PRO, Life, Patrick Street, Cork.