Madam, - While we are all doubtless gladdened to learn that Cathal Ó Broin can keep his sexual urges under control (March 22nd), one fears Mr Ó Broin may have missed the point. In arguing against a moral idealism regarding sex I am not advocating "free love", nor do I believe that sexual abstinence is an impossibility - indeed Mr Ó Broin himself proves its very possibility.
But even a cursory glance at the numbers of unplanned pregnancies and the increasing prevalence of STDs in this country serves to prove that those who practice total sexual abstinence are definitely in the minority. If people wish to choose the path of abstinence, well and good. But they should not be applauded for doing so and we must not delude ourselves into thinking that such abstention will ever become the societal norm.
People will always have sex. Is it not better that they do so with an educated mindset and with adequate recourse to prophylactics and family planning services? Pieties will not prevent pregnancies. - Yours, etc.,
OWEN CORRIGAN, Blackhall Green, Stoneybatter, Dublin 7.