Ireland's Shame

I don't know if you have been following the news or even if you know about the Savita Halappanavar case here in Ireland but after reading an article yesterday about Pro-Life groups feeling they aren't getting enough coverage in the wake of this case and the call for legislation to clarify the constitutional law concerning abortion in Ireland, I felt I could no longer stay quiet. This article upset me because to me it seemed so very petty. I'm not saying that both sides shouldn't be allowed to voice their opinions but I do feel that this time the issue goes way beyond pro-life and pro-choice. The very reason that there has been such a call for legislation has been to protect the life of the mother. The legislation that is being sought is already in the constitution and states "The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right." This is not a bunch of pro-choicers screaming for abortion, though I for one would welcome that change, but it is a bunch of women screaming that something needs to change so that a woman suffering a miscarriage where the fetus has no chance of survival is not allowed to die. A woman no matter who she is should not have to suffer agonizing pain while miscarrying and being told she is in a "Catholic Country" and she'll just have to wait until the fetus's heart stops beating. This poor young woman was not seeking an abortion to terminate a pregnancy she did not want. This was a woman seeking an abortion to cease the suffering she was experiencing while miscarrying. The fetus was only 17 weeks old and would not have survived. An abortion would have made no difference to the life of the fetus and could have saved this young mother and she and her husband could have tried again to have the child they so desired. Instead because of an extremely old and archaic law a young man has lost both his wife and child. In the wake of all this I plead with both Pro-Choicers and Pro-Lifers to put their differences aside for the moment and come together to apply pressure on the government of Ireland to legislate on the X-case allowing for abortions when the mothers life is at risk. I think we can all agree that Savita could have been saved and that with proper legislation we can prevent such a tragic event from happening again. If the laws are not changed, I for one would be willing to leave this country to bear children somewhere safer.

#politics #repealthe8th