15 Nov 2012, 7:00 am
If you are not aware of who she was, I invite you to google her name to get more info into her story.
Savita Halappanavar was 31 when she died. When her pregnancy hit serious problems at 17 weeks, she was taken to her nearest hospital. Her doctors refused to abort the pregnancy, even though the foetus had no reasonable chance of survival. Only when it's heart stopped was it removed, but by that time infection was worsening and she died shortly after.
This happened in Ireland. The law forbids abortion completely, although there have been court decisions that say there should be exemption in cases of threat to the mother's life. Despite these exemptions being lawful, the country's politicans have not passed it into law, and it comes down to the discretion of doctors.
Even with the best modern medicine has to offer, there are situations where the risk to the mother's life means abortion is the only solution. In most of these cases, the foetus will not survive anyway. While Irish laws are far harsher than most countries', and probably harsher than even most 'pro-life' supporters would go, this is a sad lesson in what can happen when abortion is made illegal.
Savita Halappanavar was 31 when she died. When her pregnancy hit serious problems at 17 weeks, she was taken to her nearest hospital. Her doctors refused to abort the pregnancy, even though the foetus had no reasonable chance of survival. Only when it's heart stopped was it removed, but by that time infection was worsening and she died shortly after.
This happened in Ireland. The law forbids abortion completely, although there have been court decisions that say there should be exemption in cases of threat to the mother's life. Despite these exemptions being lawful, the country's politicans have not passed it into law, and it comes down to the discretion of doctors.
Even with the best modern medicine has to offer, there are situations where the risk to the mother's life means abortion is the only solution. In most of these cases, the foetus will not survive anyway. While Irish laws are far harsher than most countries', and probably harsher than even most 'pro-life' supporters would go, this is a sad lesson in what can happen when abortion is made illegal.
