Sir, – As someone who has carried a tiny white coffin out of Holles Street, I can attest to the anguish caused by the wilful insensitivity of the protesters who assembled there on New Year’s Day. The lack of Christian kindness and basic human empathy displayed by these people reveals the truth of their oft-cited claims to “Love Both”.
While there is a right to peaceful protest, there is also a right to access legal healthcare without intimidation, and a right to provide care without being subjected to harassment.
Our Government must now act and legislate for safe access zones to protect medical staff and their patients from such interference.
Can we truly consider ourselves a secular democracy while the Vatican has a say in the ownership of our National Maternity Hospital and religious fundamentalists dominate the footpaths outside? – Yours, etc,
BERNIE LINNANE,
Dromahair,
Co Leitrim.
Sir, – How disappointing it is that the first anniversary of the liberalisation of reproductive rights in Ireland was marked by a ghoulish anti-abortion protest outside the National Maternity Hospital. Protesters waved baby coffins and grotesque imagery in the faces of anyone coming in and out of the NMH, without a thought to the effect this could have on people using the maternity service, including grieving parents whose lives might have just been devastated by miscarriage, stillbirth, or a diagnosis of fatal foetal abnormality.
Minister for Health Simon Harris said he was “appalled” by the protest, which is to be welcomed, but his condemnation rings a little hollow considering that pro-choice activists have been telling him for years that exclusion zones outside abortion providers are vital to enabling people to access such services, as is their right in this country now.
The ugly scenes outside the National Maternity Hospital are a direct result of the Minister reneging on his commitment to legislate for exclusion zones.
If he truly wants to thank the grassroots activists who led the campaign to repeal the Eighth Amendment, Mr Harris could do worse than to heed the warnings from experts about flaws in the legislation and its provision – the lack of exclusion zones, the needless and patronising three-day waiting period, the refusal to provide, and so on. Honour your commitments, Minister, and give Ireland proper abortion services that are accessible to everyone. – Yours, etc,
KATHY D’ARCY,
Cork.
Sir, – Now that we’ve been warned that hospitals are bracing for a “major surge in numbers”, I for one am relieved that our Minister for Health spent New Year’s Day manning the barricades of Twitter against a peaceful prayer vigil outside one of our maternity hospitals. – Yours, etc,
LIAM Ó FOGHLÚ,
Cill Churnáin,
Co Luimnigh.