Dutch abortion figures ‘understated’

LOUISE CAFFREY (Letters, December 29 incorrectly stated that the Netherlands has one of the lowest abortion rates in the EU.

According to 2005 figures, the Netherlands has an abortion rate of 15.29% of live births. This is almost twice the reported abortion rate of Irish women.

In addition, the Dutch statistics are grossly understated because they do not include many early-term abortions which, bizarrely, are not considered abortions under Dutch law and there is no onus on doctors to report them.