Debate is ignoring some sides of the abortion story
Dear Editor,
On a recent trip to Galway Shopping Centre I was suddenly struck by the poignant words across a large billboard:
“I tried to deny my abortion ever happened.. For years I hid the hurt." -- Eimear
My heart went out to this suffering young woman. She had made a difficult decision that she now deeply regrets.
Current debate seems to be ignoring the regrets of women like Eimear. These women deserve to have their voices heard. It must take a lot of courage to admit to having had an abortion.
Eimear’s experience is highlighted further by the statistics contained in the HSE’s Crisis Pregnancy Programme’s recently published Irish Contraception and Crisis Pregnancy Study. This study showed that 44 per cent of women expressed from “some” to “a lot of” regrets about their abortion.
These figures clearly indicate that there is another side of the story to be told. In the interests of transparency, women facing a crisis pregnancy surely deserve hear both sides of the issue.
Yours,
Evelyn Fennelly Hazel Park,
Thomas Hynes Road, Newcastle, Galway city
