19 JANUARY 1991, Page 22

Sir: Amanda Craig's article raises some interesting moral and ethical

issues for both the medical and the journalistic pro- fessions. Did she, for instance, seek the permission of the women whose abortions she so gloatingly observed?

Surely hospital authorities, and doctors, should be more sensitive to the emotional requirements of patients who are under- going a tragic and often deeply regretted operation.

It is also interesting that this violation of privacy took place in a National Health hospital. A woman's dignity, it appears, comes at the price of a private health fund.

Certainly, in an ideal world there would be no requirement for abortion. There would be no unwanted pregnancies, no rape, no poverty, no desertion, no betrayal of one human being by another.

That we live in a less than honourable world is underlined by the publication of `Five minutes, luv.' an article such as this: a sad and tatty piece of journalism from an otherwise reputable source.

Katherine Scholfield

7/10 Bannerman Street, Cremorne 2090, Australia