Abortion debate - Vile and cowardly

European Affairs Minister Lucinda Creighton is just the latest politician to point out she has been the victim of vicious, personal, and threatening correspondence regarding abortion from both sides of the debate.

That this correspondence is invariably anonymous does not make it easier to dismiss or less threatening.

Abortion will, with the economy, dominate public discourse for the next few months. Is it too much to hope that senior figures on either side of the debate would call for a dignified, calm debate that focuses on the issues rather than on individuals? If they do not it is, unfortunately, likely that new social media will facilitate this round of the debate being even more destructive and divisive than previous episodes.

Everyone should remember that free speech is not a licence for vile and cowardly attacks and that this kind of personal abuse has already had tragic consequences.