Oh, when will politicians consider the welfare of their constituents, especially women, and put to one side their own prejudices and religious considerations? There can be little doubt that women are usually the "losers" when politics intrude into daily life. Take the example of the Indian woman, in Ireland, so graphically reported, here, in The Toronto Star.
"For three days, Savita Halappanavar suffered agonizing pain, asking repeatedly that a 17-week-old dying fetus be removed from her body.
For three days she lay in a hospital bed getting sicker and sicker, until eventually she succumbed to septicemia.
While it sounds like a scene from the Dark Ages, this is what happened to Savita, a 31-year-old Indian immigrant living in Ireland, last month.
Everyone wants to know how could such a thing happen in a modern 21st-century nation. In a society much like Canada’s, with the same values, language, health and social structures.
That’s the question medical, legal and ethical experts will debate. They, the media and general public, will dissect the intricate details of this complex case, and package an answer to suit their own agenda.
Savita was reportedly told by doctors that they could not carry out the termination until the fetal heart had stopped because “this is a Catholic country.” This sound bite has been beamed around the world, and it’s a good one, but it doesn’t ring true.
Because the perception that Ireland is still firmly tied to the robes of Catholicism is a fallacy. The mass abuse of children by pedophile priests cut those attachments, and the decaying church, once all powerful, now holds little sway with the people or politicians.
Really, there’s a very simple reason why Savita died. It’s because she wasn’t listened to. She knew how sick she was, and begged doctors to remove the unviable fetus. They didn’t listen to her clearly expressed wishes, didn’t respect, what in hindsight, was her plea for life.
The real tragedy here is that, actually, doctors could have acted legally to abort the fetus. Within what is admittedly a very limited legal framework, obstetricians in Ireland can and do perform terminations in cases where the mother’s life is at risk.
By way of background: Ireland’s constitution officially bans abortion, but a 1992 Supreme Court ruling (known as the X case) found the procedure could be carried out in situations when the woman’s life is at risk.
So, the doctors could have acted. They chose not to, they didn’t listen, instead carrying on their paternalistic pursuit of what they believed was best, or perhaps so as not to put their own necks on the line. This is not a new narrative, and it’s why Savita’s story should transcend the emotive abortion debate and stand as an acknowledgment of all the women who regularly are not listened to when it comes to decisions about their own bodies."
"For three days, Savita Halappanavar suffered agonizing pain, asking repeatedly that a 17-week-old dying fetus be removed from her body.
For three days she lay in a hospital bed getting sicker and sicker, until eventually she succumbed to septicemia.
While it sounds like a scene from the Dark Ages, this is what happened to Savita, a 31-year-old Indian immigrant living in Ireland, last month.
Everyone wants to know how could such a thing happen in a modern 21st-century nation. In a society much like Canada’s, with the same values, language, health and social structures.
That’s the question medical, legal and ethical experts will debate. They, the media and general public, will dissect the intricate details of this complex case, and package an answer to suit their own agenda.
Savita was reportedly told by doctors that they could not carry out the termination until the fetal heart had stopped because “this is a Catholic country.” This sound bite has been beamed around the world, and it’s a good one, but it doesn’t ring true.
Because the perception that Ireland is still firmly tied to the robes of Catholicism is a fallacy. The mass abuse of children by pedophile priests cut those attachments, and the decaying church, once all powerful, now holds little sway with the people or politicians.
Really, there’s a very simple reason why Savita died. It’s because she wasn’t listened to. She knew how sick she was, and begged doctors to remove the unviable fetus. They didn’t listen to her clearly expressed wishes, didn’t respect, what in hindsight, was her plea for life.
The real tragedy here is that, actually, doctors could have acted legally to abort the fetus. Within what is admittedly a very limited legal framework, obstetricians in Ireland can and do perform terminations in cases where the mother’s life is at risk.
By way of background: Ireland’s constitution officially bans abortion, but a 1992 Supreme Court ruling (known as the X case) found the procedure could be carried out in situations when the woman’s life is at risk.
So, the doctors could have acted. They chose not to, they didn’t listen, instead carrying on their paternalistic pursuit of what they believed was best, or perhaps so as not to put their own necks on the line. This is not a new narrative, and it’s why Savita’s story should transcend the emotive abortion debate and stand as an acknowledgment of all the women who regularly are not listened to when it comes to decisions about their own bodies."
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