If you download this Powerpoint presentation, which was produced by Dr Peter Saunders of the Christian Medical Fellowship in conjunction with what was then (2007) the ‘Alive and Kicking’ anti-abortion campaign, you find a slide – number 47 – with the following title:
What about abortion to save the life of the mother?
The second of the three bullet points on that slide reads as follows:
there are no medical circumstances justifying direct abortion, that is, no circumstances in which the life of the mother may only be saved by directly terminating the life of her unborn child’. (Irish obstetricians, 1992)
Two investigations are under way into the death of a woman who was 17 weeks pregnant, at University Hospital Galway last month.
Savita Halappanavar (31), a dentist, presented with back pain at the hospital on October 21st, was found to be miscarrying, and died of septicaemia a week later.
Her husband, Praveen Halappanavar (34), an engineer at Boston Scientific in Galway, says she asked several times over a three-day period that the pregnancy be terminated. He says that, having been told she was miscarrying, and after one day in severe pain, Ms Halappanavar asked for a medical termination.
This was refused, he says, because the foetal heartbeat was still present and they were told, “this is a Catholic country”.
She spent a further 2½ days “in agony” until the foetal heartbeat stopped.
Needless to say, one wonders now whether ‘Irish obstetricians’ – and Dr Peter Saunders, of course – would care to revise their opinion?
Somehow, I doubt that they will – the anti-abortion lobby will inevitably concoct some sort of bullshit excuse to try and conceal the despicable truth in this case, that woman a died unnecessarily and in agony because Irish Catholic doctors refused to perform a termination that could have helped to save her life.
And these people have the nerve to call themselves ‘Pro-Life’.
The Irish law makes provision for cases where an emergency procedure is required. However, where malpractice is evident, then it should be treated as such and punished accordigly. Make sure you have all your facts verified before you bang on about another country’s democratic process and decision to ban abortion.
And anther woman dies on the sacrificial alter of “foetal heartbeat”.
Cowardly etter shits not fit to call themselves doctors.
THIS IS WRONG ON EVERY LEVEL AND MUST END.
John, the Irish government was told in December 2010 by the European Court of Human Rights that there must be either legislative change or proper guidelines so that where abortion was needed to save a woman’s life, the hospital (and the staff) would be able to provide it.
For two years Irish prolifers have howled at this and claimed that abortion is *never* necessary to save a woman’s life.
You may be ignorant of the ECHR’s ruling and of recent Irish prolifer campaigns, but you should take the trouble to inform yourself of these matters before professing an opinion, shouldn’t you?
Why should anti-abortion campaigners take any trouble to learn facts? They CARE – more than you do (or you’d be an anti-abortion campaigner) – and that’s wholly sufficient.