16 JANUARY 1988, Page 25

Worthy to live

Sir: I read, with interest Paul Johnson's article 'When is a Foetus Disposable?' (5 December). I wonder whether any of those who advocate the disposal of a foetus on the grounds that the child will suffer from Down's Syndrome, spina bifida or similar diseqse considers the feeling of living people with such handicaps who every day must listen to assertions that, through no fault of their own, they are not worthy of a basic right to life.

Francesca Dawson

25 Pevensey Gardens, Hullbridge, Essex