Courtney McGrailDear Editor, Recently it was reported that the number of Irish mothers going to Britain for abortions has dropped from 6,673 in 2001 to 3,451 in 2015. This was great news for all our pro-life charities, and hoperfully is for the right reasons such as chastity before marriage, fidelity within marriage, single mothers and others with crisis pregnancies getting genuine help to keep their babies, and adoption.
I do not wish to discredit this decrease, but we need to discern if it is accurate and whether we can prove it.
In 2000/2001 the morning-after pill was introduced into Ireland – is this high-dosed hormone causing early silent abortions? One of the ways this drug works is the prevention of embryos implanting in the womb, thereby causing abortions. Also, how many Irish embryos are aborted through unethical fertility procedures like IVF outside of Ireland?
There may be other reasons for the decrease such as emigration overseas during our recession, and some mothers going to countries other than Britain to have abortions.
We now see a big push from some unscrupulous politicians and media etc. to repeal our pro-life Eighth Amendment which has saved about 200,000 unborn babies since it was introduced in 1983. This push is mostly due to 50 years of poor or no genuine Catholic catechesis in our schools and Masses on the humanity of all from conception to natural death. Many now inside as well as outside the Church do not know right from wrong and have become desensitised to abortion and other ethical issues.
If the ongoing decrease in Irish abortions in Britain is for the right reasons, however, then this is great news.
Yours etc,
Ann Campbell,
Scotstown, Co. Monaghan