Sir, - Rev Kenneth Kearon (November 19th) implies that he's saddened to be described as "pro-choice", yet it might interest your readers to hear what happened at the recent Dublin and Glendalough Church of Ireland Synod when Jim Ruttle and I warned, through a notice of motion, that the recent submission by the board of the Adelaide Society to the Department of Health could give succour to those who would advocate limited abortion in this country and could thereby result in the "Protestant ethos" being responsible for its introduction in the Tallaght Hospital.
We had expected a sensible debate and a majority acceptance of the Christian rule regarding the taking of life - no matter how unfortunate the circumstances might be. What in effect we got was a sustained counter-attack upon the two of us by leading clerics of the Church of Ireland who, while protesting that the Church of Ireland would never condone abortion on demand, nevertheless stated that abortion in various circumstances could be an acceptable practice. Rev Kenneth Kearon vociferously objected to our stance and even seconded a motion against us.
With a hall full of senior C of I clerics and church leaders, our motion, which merely suggested caution, was not just rejected - it was thrown out with just 13 people voting with us! Let us be quite clear: the Church of Ireland that night clearly rejected human rights for the unborn and voted for abortion - and that without even any consideration about the suggested dates mentioned in Kenneth Kearons' letter regarding when a baby is a person or a non-person or even just a "conceptus" (his noun).
The question we need to address is simple. Does the Church of Ireland now reject the concept of moral absolutes? Is it becoming "christian" with a small "c"? It is not pleasant standing up against public opinion for what you believe to be morally right, but it is easier when the accepted Church of Ireland rule book for living, the Bible, is so definite regarding the sanctity of life. - Yours, etc., Susan Philips,
Glenealy, Co Wicklow.