Sir, - Jennifer O'Farrell is, of course, correct, the literature does not show long-term damage to women following abortion but, (to paraphrase), Surgeon General Koop's survey for President Reagan reported that the literature showed nothing at all. All the studies he could find were so inadequate and contradictory that it was not possible to draw valid conclusions.
We all know people in their 80s who smoke heavily and are in fine health, but it is accepted by all except the tobacco industry that smoking is harmful, although the effects may well take decades to show up. There are no properly designed and completed long-term studies of the effects of abortion, unless one is prepared to accept drop-out rates of 50 per cent in the first year and only 5 per cent being followed for 5 years. Sadly, pregnancy support agencies are finding it is becoming more and more necessary to offer counselling for those who have had an abortion, frequently more than five years previously, and in one case I know of, 37 years ago. Unless studies of abortion have the same time-scale as smoking studies they are of little value in clarifying the true effects of abortion.
Ms O'Farrell seems to be unaware of the way in which US statistics for abortion mortality and morbidity are collected. Unless the trauma is reported before the client leaves the clinic it is not categorised as abortion-related. This is guaranteed to under-estimate the situation.
The decline in adoption is probably due in part to the ready availability of abortion but also in large part to the general acceptance of single parenthood. The pain of adoption can be minimised by proper management/counselling and the knowledge that one has had the courage and generosity not to take life. An unwanted pregnancy cannot be unmade by abortion. Whatever choice is made there will be pain, and it is a service to no-one, least of all women, to claim that abortion is a simple, trouble-free means of reversing an unfortunate state of affairs.
If only Ms O'Farrell could share the experience of those who find themselves caring for the increasing number of women who seek post-abortion support, she might direct her talents to supporting women trying to come to terms with an unwanted pregnancy, rather than advocating a quick fix which has the potential for doing so much damage to the woman, besides the obvious effects on a human being whose potential is all in the future. - Yours, etc., Dr Patrick Davey,
Chairman, Dublin Life Group, Dame Street, Dublin 2.