Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is being pressured to address the thorny topic of Irish abortion law when she visits Dublin Thursday on one of her last official foreign trips.
A group of high-profile artists and academics, mostly Irish citizens based in the United States, has issued an open letter suggesting that Clinton publicly raise the issue of Ireland’s unclear yet restrictive abortion laws when she delivers a speech on human rights in the Irish capital.
Among the signatories to the letter are actor Gabriel Byrne, Riverdancecomposer Bill Whelan and a number of prominent novelists, including Colum McCann, Colm Toibin, Peter Quinn and Belinda McKeon.
The letter asks Clinton to “consider addressing this very real and present danger to the lives and health of pregnant women.”
Read full article by Niall Stanage here
The Irish Catholic Bishops have seen fit to clarify the church’s view on gynecology given Savita Halappanavar’s death from sepsis at 17 weeks in her pregnancy and the concern that evacuating her uterus was delayed because the fetus still had a heart beat. The full statement is here, but this is the excerpt I find most troubling:
- Whereas abortion is the direct and intentional destruction of an unborn baby and is gravely immoral in all circumstances, this is different from medical treatments which do not directly and intentionally seek to end the life of the unborn baby. Current law and medical guidelines in Ireland allow nurses and doctors in Irish hospitals to apply this vital distinction in practice while upholding the equal right to life of both a mother and her unborn baby.
I spent quite sometime trying to understand how one could possibly translate this statement into medical care. I’ve been a doctor for 22 years and an OB/GYN for 17 years and I admit that I am at a bit of a loss. My three interpretations are as follows.
- Terminating a pregnancy is “gravely immoral in all circumstances.” All circumstances includes 17 weeks and ruptured membranes. Unless I misunderstand the meaning of “all,” then Irish Catholic Bishops also view ending a pregnancy at 17 weeks with ruptured membranes and sepsis, either by induction of labor or the surgical dilation and evaluation (D & E), to be “gravely immoral.” They must also view ending a pregnancy for a woman who previously had postpartum cardiomyopathy and a 50% risk of death in her pregnancy as “gravely immoral.” So if you have a medical condition that is rapidly deteriorating because of your pregnancy, too bad for you if you live in Ireland. Because the mother and unborn baby have equal rights to life, Irish law spares women the anguish of choosing their own life. Neither can be first, so both must die.
Full article by Dr Jen Gunter here
Over 2,000 attend another vigil and protest at the Dail. We will not be ignored. Never again! The next protest is on Wed 28th at 7pm - details HERE. Tweets during Sinead Redmond's emotional speech Sinead Redmond, Pro-Choice activist and heavily pregnant talks about the 8th amendment as a '152' year old relic. #Savita
New campaign @SavitasLaws http://www.savitaslaws.com/ and Facebook #Savita #rtept #legislatenow
Redmond talks about website 'Savita's Laws' established this week. #Savita
Pregnant speaker says civil and political opinion should have no role in her care #savita #dail
That last line came from a speaker who is 8 months pregnant. "My life and health are worth protecting." #Savita #LegislateForX
Very moving speech by Sinead Redmond & what I feel as we in the fucking dark ages #savita
Great emotional address from @sineadredmond calling for immediate legislation & removal of 1861 act #Savita #SavitasLaws #NeverAgain
"This is not a time to be calm. This is a time to be angry. A woman died a preventable death in an Irish hospital in 2012" #Savita
"I cannot sleep with rage, with fear"- 8 month pregnant Sinead Redmond #Savita
Sinead Redmond, of Unlike Youth Defence, says "we need movement and we need it now. Never again." #savita
Sinead Redmond cries "SHAME ON THEM!" on the steps outside Leinster House. Crowd erupts with shouts of 'shame' #Savita
"Civil and criminal law has no place in my pregnancy, in my medical treatment"- Sinead Redmond's voice breaks with emotion #Savita
Video of Clare Daly at the protest tonight Photos from the march tonight
VINCENT BROWNE
How anybody thought an investigation panel into the death of a person in a hospital controlled by the Health Service Executive could include medics from that hospital and a representative of the HSE itself would be beyond belief were it not devised by the hapless James Reilly.
So too is the absence of any clear legal basis for investigation, made worse by the absence of legal expertise on the panel.
A commission of investigation such as that constituted under Judge Yvonne Murphy to inquire into child abuse in the Dublin archdiocese should have been instituted. Such an inquiry, limited to the circumstances surrounding the death of Savita Halappanavar, would be brief, inexpensive, conclusive and credible.
If, following yesterday’s removal of the University Hospital Galway consultants from the panel, another cobbled-together panel proceeds, there are likely to be legal challenges, complaints about procedures, refusals to co-operate and, finally, a report (if the process does not collapse) that will have limited, if any, authority.
Whatever the Government does on legislation or otherwise on the X case judgment is also likely to be a fiasco, because the complexity of the issues to be addressed are such, largely because of difficulties with the Supreme Court’s judgment in the X case (if a possible suicide is a justification for abortion, then how is a possible death from other causes not a justification?).
And that complexity arises, in the first instance, from the terms of the 1983 abortion amendment. The case for amending this amendment is now compelling and this will require the Irish people to reconsider their mindset on abortion.
Interest in Savita Halappanavar’s story won’t wane any time soon - if the trend of vigils cropping up worldwide is anything to go by.
After rallies in the UK and Ireland, New York is the latest in a line of cities where anyone moved by the tragedy of her death has gathered to show solidarity with her family.
“This isn’t just an Irish issue - international awareness exists around this human rights issue,” Max McGuinness, a Dublin-born Columbia University PhD student and one of the two vigil organisers tells The Irish Times.
Surrounded by dozens of like-minded people at a candlelit ceremony on the lawn outside Columbia University’s Barnard College, McGuinness says the goal was also to protest at the circumstances leading up to Ms Halappanavar’s death.
“It seems to be a direct consequence of the failure of consecutive Irish governments since the X case to produce a legal framework that would protect pregnant women’s rights,” McGuinness says.
“A show of global support is vital,” adds Barnard Professor Belinda McKeown, who organised the vigil with McGuinness. “The Irish Government needs to be reminded the world is taking this story seriously, and with the right kind of pressure they may finally act, ” she says, adding how Barnard College, traditionally a female-only campus, was the perfect setting to spotlight women’s rights being undermined by a lack of clarity on abortion in Ireland’s Constitution.
TANAISTE Eamon Gilmore has ordered Labour ministers to push for action on the controversial abortion issue despite his absence from Cabinet today. And his party colleague, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn, has warned there will be "consequences" for TDs who vote against the Government on the contentious issue. The death of Savita Halappanavar has propelled the issue to the top of the political agenda and the Cabinet will today decide on the coalition response to a Sinn Fein motion calling for immediate legislation. But Mr Gilmore will miss the key meeting as he is attending a crucial gathering of EU foreign affairs ministers in Brussels about agreeing the €1 trillion EU budget for 2014-2020. A Labour source said its ministers were "very clear" about Mr Gilmore's desire to get legal clarity on abortions when a pregnant mother's life was at risk. "We want a decision as quickly as possible," the source said. Full article here
By now news of Savita Halappanavar's senseless death has traveled around the world, drawing attention to Ireland's near-total ban on abortion and the horrific consequences of such policies. This is not a stand-alone case. Every 90 seconds a woman dies from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth, totaling more than 350,000 deaths worldwide each year. Nearly all of these deaths occur in developing countries, where access to modern medical care is scarce. What makes Savita's story so shocking is that she died in a modern hospital in a developed European country. We health advocates spend a lot of time and energy fighting for the kind of access Savita (almost) had. Hers was a planned pregnancy. She herself was a medical professional, a dentist, who recognized the warning signs of pregnancy complications. When she felt severe pains, she and her husband didn't have to travel far to reach a clean, modern hospital where her health problems were quickly diagnosed. And when she learned that she was miscarrying and that her life was in danger, she asked her doctor about her options and requested that her pregnancy be ended before it killed her. Lack of access to medical care did not kill Savita -- politics did. Full article here
' Just a few months after Irish doctors reaffirmed Ireland's abortion ban by determining that in zero cases an abortion would be medically necessary to save the life of the mother, 31-year-old Hindu dentist Savita Halappanavar died tragically after miscarrying 17 weeks into her pregnancy when doctors refused to abort the fetus. She spent three days in agonizing pain, asking for the abortion that could save her life, but each time the doctors refused, telling her, "Sorry, this is a Catholic country." Savita was not Catholic. There was nothing her doctors could've done to save the fetus. But an abortion would have saved her life.'Full article here.
At a press conference this afternoon, the HSE said the investigation will seek to identify any shortcomings that may be identified in the clinical care provided to Ms Halappanavar. The seven-member investigating team will be chaired by Professor Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, head of obstetrics and gynaecology at St George's Hospital, University of London. The team is made up of a number of experts in the relevant disciplines; including anaesthesia, midwifery, obstetrics and gynaecology. They are Cora McCaughan, head of the executive’s Serious Incident Management Team; Geraldine Keohane, director of midwifery at Cork University Hospital; Dr Catherine Fleming, Infectious Diseases Consultant at Galway University Hospital; Dr Brian Harte, Consultant in Anaesthetics, Galway University Hospital and Prof John Morrison, Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Galway University Hospital. Full article here
The HSE has announced the details surrounding the upcoming investigation into the death of Savita Halappanavar. Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, an independent expert in obstetrics and gynaecology, will chair the Investigation Team into her death. He is a Professor and Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Deputy Head of Clinical Sciences at St George’s University of London, as well as President of the International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. The Investigation Team comprises a number of experts in the relevant disciplines; including anaesthesia, midwifery, obstetrics and gynaecology, to review the full range of clinical care provided to Ms Halappanavar. The team also includes an independent patient representative. The HSE’s National Incident Management Team (NIMT) will oversee and support the investigation into the circumstances of Ms Halappanavar’s tragic death. Full article here
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