Sir, - Prof Walter Prendiville, Associate Professor of Obstetrics at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and consultant obstetrician/gynaecologist to the Coombe Women's Hospital and Tallaght Hospital, says that most Irish women who have a termination of pregnancy do so for social or personal reasons "that have nothing to do with medical, psychiatric or psychological risk to the mother" (The Irish Times, February 8th).
I agree that abortion is not necessary because of "medical, psychiatric or psychological risk to the mother".
Replying to a question, the UK Secretary of State for Health informed the House of Commons that in over three-and-a-half million abortions carried out in England and Wales during a period of 13 years, risk to the mother's life was the indication in 151 cases - 0.004 per cent (Hansard, May 13th, 1992).
However, when Prof Prendiville tells us that no ethicist, philosopher, gynaecologist or theologian could tell anyone what is right on the difficult question of abortion, he hardly expects to be taken seriously.
Perhaps a gynaecologist, even a "leading obstetrician", may have some difficulty - although I do not believe this to be the case, if the individual has had a grounding in ethics at medical school - but no such difficulty arises in the case of learned philosophers, ethicists or theologians by whom, dare I say it, Prof Prendiville might be well advised. - Yours, etc.,
Eamon O'Dwyer (Professor Emeritus), Lower Taylors Hill, Galway.