Courtney McGrailDear Editor, Several newspapers have now drawn attention to the remarks of Mrs Sabina Higgins calling for the introduction of abortion. I am indebted to your letter-writer Ms Josephine O’Brien (IC 12/05/2016) for being amongst the first to do so.
Some papers have downplayed the incident. One such paper headed its editorial “A word of caution…” But it is much more serious than this implies.
It is not the first time that the President’s wife has spoken in favour of changes to the Constitution that her husband was elected by the people to uphold. According to a report in The Irish Times of 12/03/2016, the “wife of President Michael Higgins”, spoke at an event organised by National Women’s Council of Ireland at which the major theme was the repeal of the Eighth (Life Equality) Amendment.
Mrs Higgins is the wife of a President. She is not living a separate life to Michael D. Higgins and is not therefore an ordinary citizen. She is not entitled to express her views over and above the ordinary citizens who elected her husband.
In those circumstances, the President is obliged to make it clear he does not share such views, which are contrary to the Constitution. Otherwise, it must be assumed he does not know what his main job is.
He has had sufficient time since March 12 (when these views first became public knowledge) to make a statement and this has not happened. Failure to do so means he is putting himself in the way of impeachment. The road to impeachment is tortuous for the individual.
However, a previous Government considered a President to be “a thundering disgrace”.
The President was then forced to resign. I do not suggest that this should be the outcome. But we may be forced to look at the problem in the near future.
Yours etc.,
Donal O’Driscoll,
Blackrock, Co. Dublin