Senator right to express surrogacy view

Sir, – Una Mullally asserts that Senator Sharon Keogan's performance during a Seanad committee meeting on surrogacy was "arrogant and strange" ("What should we do when Senators go too far?", Opinion & Analysis, April 25th).

Why is it arrogant and strange to express legitimate concerns about the ethical, legal and moral acceptability of surrogacy in a debate about surrogacy?

Una Mullally continued: “It’s incredibly important that the Irish political system can facilitate the broadest church possible when it comes to points of view, ideologies, perspectives and ideas.” Yet when Senator Keogan expressed a point of view that did not conform to the prevailing view of the committee, her comment was deemed offensive.

The purpose of the committee stage is to allow different, and sometimes opposing, views to be raised and addressed. This is democracy in action. If Senators and politicians cannot express their opinions without fear of offending others, the Dáil and Seanad are no longer chambers for robust debate but echo chambers that perpetuate unquestioning groupthink. – Yours, etc,

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SANDRA ADAMS,

Baldoyle,

Dublin 13.