Sir: Donald Gould (15 August) is worried that the imperfect
child's right to life might be transferred to the unborn. His own 'credo' would get round this by limiting the unborn child's right to life to the moment when with care she (or he) could survive. I recently looked up the subsequent history of a patient whose weight soon after birth fell below one pound: at 13 years she served as bridesmaid to one of the devoted nurses who cared for her.
Many thousands of Britain's registered abortions each year are potential normal citizens, not potential mongols or suffering from spina bifida. The decision to end a life must remain a moral issue and this belief does not exclude compassion for the mother, rather it presents a challenge to help not only at the birth but over the difficult years ahead.
Hugh Cameron McLaren 26 Ampton Road, Birmingham
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