We have to hold governments accountable. Laws must be clear on abortion and guidance and training need to follow. And never should a woman’s life hang in the balance because of someone else’s moral objection to abortion.
What do Malta and Ireland have in common, that is in addition to being under strong Catholic Church influence and that the women living there are taking the toll (as always)? They are also both members of the EU.
Hopefully, the tragedy of Savita will, at least, finally spur the Irish government to issue clearer guidelines that the life of the pregnant woman must be privileged over that of her fetus. But if the thousands demonstrating reflect changes already underway in Irish society—including a growing dissatisfaction with the Catholic Church’s influence—perhaps some day Savita Halappanavar will be remembered as the woman whose death was a turning point in the long struggle for the legalization of abortion in Ireland.
In the United States, the war on contraception continues, with the Ohio state legislature mounting a new attack on subsidized birth control for low income women.
The Irish government has yet to regulate access to life-saving abortions in Ireland, despite the fact that such medical interventions have been legal in that country for two decades. The situation has created fear in both women and the medical profession alike.
Recent press about the death of Savita Halappanavar, admitted to a hospital in Ireland with medical complications in a 17 week pregnancy, is a grim reminder about the impact of abortion restrictions on women's lives.
