Abortion boom
LETTERS
From Marie Vaughan, T. C. Skeffington-Lodge, W. L. Outwin, Dr W. S. C. Copeman, G. I. lkokwu, Roger Franklin, I. H. Huizinga. T. E. B. Howarth, Sam Wolf, Jonothan Shepard, C. M. E. Franklin, the Rev P. R. Smythe, Katharine M. R. Kenyon, Ross H. Dabney, Tony Tanner, Margaret Costa and others, Pro- fessor Frank Eyck.
Sir: Mr Adrian Fitzgerald (Letters, 21 March) says that because more women are now obtain- ing legal abortions from doctors, it follows that more women are also obtaining illegal abor- tions from quacks. He regards it as 'perfectly reasonable to suppose this.' I don't. Given a choice between a doctor and a quack, most women will prefer the former, so fewer and fewer will be thrown back on the unqualified back-street abortionists.
I would, however, have agreed with Mr Fitz- gerald had he said that irrespective of the Abortion Act, the demand for abortion is probably increasing year by year. More women are using the pill, more women are using other forms of birth control, so it is probably also the case that more women are prepared to ask for abortions if these methods fail.
This trend is a by-product of the equality of women, however unpalatable this fact of life may be to Mr Fitzgerald and others. The silly creatures really have the cheek to believe that they are the ones who ought to decide the size and spacing of their families, instead of those who know what is good for other people.
Marie Vaughan 95 Court Road, London SE9
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