Sir, – The temperate letter from former senator Dr Mary Henry (December 19th) reminds us all of the folly of making complex decisions in turbulent political times. And those were extremely turbulent years – 1981-82 – when we had three elections in two years. The question of abortion unfortunately became a political football and led to the folly of a majority of the Dáil endorsing wording which was put forward by Fianna Fáil. The then attorney general Peter Sutherland solemnly advised that the wording was dangerously ambiguous. Therefore, the government then put forward its own wording, "Nothing in this Constitution shall be invoked to invalidate or to deprive of force or effect any provision of the law on the grounds that it prohibits abortion". This was defeated in the Dáil.
Those of us in government campaigning against the Fianna Fail wording met great hostility and well-organised hate-mail campaigns. However, the referendum was carried with a turnout of 50 per cent and a two-to-one majority.
In her letter, Dr Henry has detailed the sad and sorry consequences for Irish women. Some 31 years later, I believe the eighth amendment would be deleted from the Constitution if a referendum were held. But we know that referendums in Ireland, for a variety of reasons, are unpredictable. And even more so if held in the heat of election campaigns. Therefore, surely the responsible way forward is for all the parties to set out exactly where they stand. If – as I suspect – all of the main political groups acknowledge that the eighth amendment should be deleted, it would not be a political flashpoint and could be dealt with calmly – after the next election. – Yours, etc,
GEMMA HUSSEY,
Dublin 4 .