Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
comic strip overdue media

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Shameful

Abortion debate flares in Ireland after woman denied quick termination dies
Savita Halappanavar was in agony but her doctors remained obstinate.

The 31-year-old dentist was 17 weeks pregnant on Oct. 21 when her husband Praveen rushed her to a hospital in Galway, Ireland. After an examination at the coastal city’s university hospital, Halappanavar was told she was miscarrying.

Over a three-day stretch, Halappanavar and her husband asked repeatedly that her pregnancy be terminated.

Doctors refused, saying that they could still detect a fetal heartbeat. At one point, Halappanavar was told, “This is a Catholic country,” according to The Guardian.
Halappanavar was neither Irish nor Catholic, but died due to a constitutional amendment passed in 1983 that states that one is an Irish citizen from conception. Thousands of Irish women go abroad to end their pregnancies in a country where abortion is not available. She did not have that recourse, as she was undergoing an emergency miscarriage. Now she is dead, her case mishandled by a profession that promises to 'do no harm', who in turn are bound by a backwards property of the constitution that means choosing a dying foetus over the health of the mother.

No one likes the idea of abortion. I certainly don't care for the idea of abortion in place of birth control. [And I stress that birth control is a better option. It amazes me that some people oppose that, as well, even though I understand their reasons. But it does prevent the more invasive abortion.] But I think that's relatively rare that you have women who just abort at the drop of a hat. The two people I have known to have had one made very difficult decisions and were certainly not doing so blithely. But I think women have a fundamental right to safe medical services for abortion, no matter what the situation. And the idea that a woman should carry a pregnancy to term in the case of rape or incest is insulting to women everywhere. Or, in this case, risking the life of a woman, I think it should be criminal.

I hope this case will open up a dialogue in Ireland and other places about providing the medical services needed to save lives despite, and providing abortion services to women who need them.

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