Sir, - In response to recent letter-writers' protests at the judgment in the C Case and at the unravelling of an absolutist antiabortion ethos in Irish society, I would like to make the following point. There is an important distinction between the question of whether or not a woman has a "right" to abortion, and whether or not it is "right" for her to have an abortion.
As an Irish pro-choice feminist, I would argue that all women should be recognized as having a right to abortion because, in the particular circumstances of pregnancy, women are the appropriate decision-makers. Given that pregnancy entails that a woman physically and emotionally sustain a foetus in her body, I do not think that there should be any circumstances in which she can be asked to do this against her will. Therefore, I support the campaign for the legal recognition of a woman's right to choose abortion. However, I would never argue that it is always right for women to have abortions. The question of whether or not it is right to have an abortion can be adequately evaluated only by considering all the issues that are raised in the particular circumstances of a woman's pregnancy. Therefore, I also support the campaign for the provision of fully-funded, non-directive pregnancy counselling services, and for a society in which women's reproductive decisions are respected and trusted as the moral choices that they are. - Yours, etc.,
Ruth Fletcher,
Law School, York University, Toronto, Canada.