Sir, - The Irish College of General Practitioners has recently released an information leaflet on "emergency contraception" for distribution to patients by doctors which baldly states that the so-called "morning-after" pills "prevent pregnancy and do not cause abortion".
This statement is followed by the sentence "Abortion can only take place after a fertilised egg has implanted in the womb".
As a pharmacist, I know the above statements are patently misleading.
The author of this leaflet has mischievously indulged in the subtle meddling of definition of the terms "pregnancy" and "abortion" to deceive readers about when life begins. The true abortifacient nature of the drug is denied.
This leaflet and the wording it employs is a scandalous distortion in a matter of the most profound sensitivity any woman has to face - the snuffing out of the life of a child in her womb.
What is happening here is an abuse of the esteem and trust by which the general public holds the medical profession. It is the trampling underfoot of the respect for the dignity and integrity of women seeking authentic information before making an informed decision. - Yours, etc.,
Patrick McCrystal, Executive Director, Human Life International (Ireland), 6 Belvedere Place, Dublin 1.