Humanity of the unborn is key to definition of abortion as murder

I WISH to reply to Seferin James and Nicki Ffrench Davis (Letters, January 28) who responded to my earlier letter on abortion. Firstly, Seferin James makes a number of assumptions, mostly incorrect.

Yes, I did attend a Catholic school where abortion was only mentioned in one or two private discussions, but never as part of a class.

And for the record, I do not attend a Catholic or any other church.

My central point was that belief (or non-belief) in the humanity of the unborn ultimately gives rise to the differing views on unborn rights. My contention is that if one accepts the humanity of the unborn, then logically one must also accept that they have human rights, including the right to life.

I do not expect Seferin James to agree, but at least to acknowledge that from such a perspective, the only word I can use to describe the deliberate destruction of such a life is “murder”.

While I support counselling for pregnant women, Nicki Ffrench Davis’s suggestion of mandatory counselling may be unacceptable to many of them. Women considering an abortion should be advised to view a video of the procedure. Then they might not view it as such a positive option.

Rory O’Donovan

111 Sundays Well Road

Cork