LETTER: Women who go to UK for abortions

SIR – We're told 3,000 to 4,000 Irishwomen have abortions every year in the UK.

Who is it exactly that you think is having all these abortions? According to some, it's just callous, careless girls who are using abortion as contraception. But just think about that for a minute. It could cost you hundreds of euros for flights, hundreds more for accommodation. You've got to take time off work – more hundreds of euros. Then you've got to pay for the procedure itself, which can be up to a thousand pounds.

Thousands of euros for contraception? Sounds like a pretty bad deal to me. The fact of the matter is that the majority of women who have had an abortion in the UK are already mothers, people who already know what a joy it is to hold their newborn in their arms. They're not making this decision on a whim, having abortions for the laugh, you know.

So who are these women? Well, by my calculation (and according to reliable research), over the years more than 150,000 Irishwomen have had an abortion; that's one in every ten. So chances are these women are your own family members, your friends, the woman who serves you in the shop or the pub, all just trying to make good choices for themselves and their families and get by the best they can, just like the rest of us.

Yours sincerely,

Kathy D'Arcy,

Shanakiel,

Cork.