We need to take abortion debate out of the hands of extremists and show our compassion

I think it is time that the abortion debate which has been raging in this country on and off for 30 years is taken out of the hands of the extremists and taken on by, what I hope is, the rational, compassionate majority of in-betweeners.

As a woman and a mother I am neither bogged down by fanatical, religious, ideology, nor do I accept that a woman should always have the choice of termination. I do not want to see private abortion clinics operating in this country, but I would like the debate to be guided by compassion and humanity.

We do not know what happened in Galway to poor Savita Halappanavar and her baby and we should not pre-judge the case. We do know what is happening every day to other women in this country.