Abortion: the right to choose: Letter

Sir: The bottom line with abortion is the right to have control over your own body and not to be forced to give birth against your will. What is needed is true publicly-funded abortion on demand.

In deploring the 98 per cent of abortions made for "social reasons", Bryan Appleyard completely misses the point. Many of these abortions are carried out because of the lack of financial and emotional support available for those trying to care for babies, both handicapped and able-bodied. If he was serious about decreasing the number of "unnecessary" abortions he would be better employed campaigning for creche facilities, paid maternity leave and the like, rather than heaping more emotional torment on those who already have to make an impossibly difficult decision.

S M DAVIDS

Leigh-on-Sea, Essex