Abortion has always been a polarising topic in Irish public
life, but unless you've been living under a rock the past few weeks, it's been
thrust back into the limelight after the tragic death of 31 year old
Savita Halappanavar,
a Dentist living in Galway. Savita presented herself in A&E at Galway
University Hospital complaining of back pain but was found to be miscarrying
after being 17 weeks pregnant. Spending 3 days in agony she requested an
abortion multiple times but was denied as the foetus still had a heartbeat. After
the foetus was finally induced, Savita developed septicaemia and was dead
within a week.
20
Years ago the Supreme Court ruled that abortion is permissible when there is a
substantial risk to the life of the mother after the Attorney General issued an
injunction to prohibit a suicidal raped teenager travelling to the UK to access
an abortion. This teenager known as "Girl X" is now older than
Savita, and that Supreme Court ruling has never been legislated upon. No
government has had the moral or ethical courage to legislate on that Supreme
Court ruling, which frankly does not go far enough. Doctors are unable to perform
their duty of care to the patient, as they could not act within the scope of
the law as there was no immediate threat to Savita's life, however there was a
real threat to her health. Savita's cervix was dilated during her 3 day
agonising miscarriage leaving her prone to infection. Under Ireland's archaic
laws on abortion, the right to life of the unborn undermined the right to life,
and bodily integrity of the mother.
Even the anti-choice movement are jumping on this latest
case to spread lies and mis-information. Savita's husband Praveen contacted Galway
Pro-Choice seeking advice on going public with this case, and to campaign on
legislation for X. The campaign to date has been respectful and dignified in
comparison to the inflammatory hysteria peddled by pro-lifers we've become so
accustomed to in recent years.
Even the old chestnut of Abortion on Demand is getting
thrown around, personally I see nothing wrong with that. We had a miscarrying woman
in agony demanding an abortion which was denied.
A
pregnant cancer patient demanded an abortion which was denied and had to
travel to the UK as her life was deemed not to be in immediate danger. Due to
problems having her passport renewed, her cancer treatment was delayed. Do not
be fooled, anti-choice rhetoric muddies the water and derails the argument,
which is what they want.
I have my reservations with surgical abortion, but upon
reflection I may feel the same way about any high-intervention treatment. In a
lot of cases, a medical abortion might be the best option for many Irish women
if legislators allowed for it, where a GP can prescribe medication to terminate
a foetus up to 10 weeks. It would certainly prevent women from ordering dodgy
pills online, having to travel to the UK, or worse still - back alley coat-hanger
abortions, ensuring the safety of Irish women.
Irish women who require a termination have their human
rights violated. They are denied, what can often be a necessary treatment in
their own country; making them unequal before the law, violates right to life
and bodily integrity. In 2012 we should no longer be arguing about this in
Ireland, and making urgent demands on the government to finally update and legislate
upon a 20 year old Supreme Court Ruling.
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