The science columnist for the Irish Times has published a letter debunking claims made by pro-choice activists. William Reville is an emeritus professor of biochemistry at UCC. He wrote that pro-choice activists often claim that ‘The foetus is not a human being’. However, he wrote, “it is a biological fact that the foetus, from conception, is a human being. Conception is the start of a continuum of human development that ends eventually in death in old age. At every stage along this continuum the human being has the characteristics appropriate to that stage”.

He also said that the often heard pro-choice slogan ‘My body, my choice’ is also “biologically incorrect”.

“Although housed in and dependent on the mother’s body, the developing baby is not part of the mother’s body. It is a genetically unique human being entirely distinct from the mother”. And he added, “of course, this slogan offers no choice to the foetus”.

He also tackled the pro-choice claim that ‘Abortion should be safe, legal and rare’, but noted that abortion is not rare anywhere it is legally available. “For example, 20 per cent of pregnancies are aborted in the UK, 20 per cent in the US, 25 per cent in Sweden and 14.5 per cent in the Netherlands”. Finally, he tackled the claim that “Irish legislation would set a 12-week limit for abortion”, and asked how long would this limit last?