MR Quarrie attempts to justify abortion on the grounds of poverty, overpopulation and inconvenience (Letters, July 2).

Procured abortion is the deliberate and direct killing, by whatever means it is carried out, of a human being in the initial phase of his or her existence, extending from conception to birth.

While the term "choice" may sound democratic, the person who opts for abortion is neglecting to consider the fundamental right to life of the mother's unborn foetus.

To claim the right to abortion and to recognise that right in law means to attribute to human freedom a perverse and evil significance: that of an absolute power over others and against others. This is the death of true freedom.

Today, in many people's consciences, the perception of the gravity of abortion has become progressively obscured. The acceptance of abortion in the popular mind, in behaviour and even in law itself, is a telling sign of an extremely dangerous crisis of the moral sense, which is becoming more and more incapable of distinguishing between good and evil, even when the fundamental right to life is at stake.

Paul Kokoski,

Columbia Drive,

Hamilton,

Ontario,

Canada.

...Come on David Quarrie, get real yourself! Abortion is not another kind of contraception, it is another kind of murder.

But then why get sentimental about that?

What right have we to condemn Saddam Husein and Al Quaida?

Ken Barnes,

North View,

Catterton,

North Yorkshire.

Updated: 11:05 Monday, July 05, 2004