Madam, - I read with interest a brief article in your edition of August 3rd on a United Nations report which makes several recommendations to our Government in the area of discrimination against women.
Of particular concern to the UN committee is the prevalence of domestic violence against women and girls in Ireland, which has also been highlighted by Amnesty International.
I wholeheartedly agree that, as a society, we need to address this endemic violence as a matter of urgency.
What concerned me, however, about the report was its criticism of our "very restrictive abortion laws". Under the UN Convention on the Abolition of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (2003), states must protect women's right to reproductive health and prevent discrimination in the provision of health care services, "including those related to family planning".
I agree. But the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child sets out the "rights of children everywhere". It demands that governments safeguard life and refrain from any actions that intentionally take life away. This same convention asserts that "all of us are born with human rights".
Surely the most vulnerable children, those who are unborn, also have rights? Or does the UN think that life begins only after birth? It is shocking that the United Nations does not recognise and protect these children, but rather criticises anti-abortion policies, which may not be "politically correct" in our culture of freedom of choice, but which place the inalienable right to life above all others.
Unfortunately, many people, particularly women, feel afraid to express their opposition to abortion. It is seen as being anti-women and anti-human-rights. I am a woman who strongly supports equal human rights for all people - regardless of whether they happen to be inside or outside the womb. - Yours, etc,
FIONNUALA FRANEY,
St Patrick's Avenue,
Wicklow Town,
Co Wicklow.