1 FEBRUARY 1975, Page 6

Abortion

From Professor H. C. McLaren Sir: To complete Mr Leo Abse's review of Babies for Burning (January 18) it is of public interest that the authors had to fight in the courts for permission to publish, in view of the harsh facts which are revealed. All decent citizens will be horrified at the private rackets which were inevitable with the wording of the 1967 Abortion Act. From the baby's point of view, however, it does not matter whether the incinerator is marked 'government licensed abortorium' or simply 'NHS'. The result is the same — death.

Hugh Cameron McLaren Lawson Tait. Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Birmingham