Ireland has finally decided to allow termination of pregnancy in cases where the mother’s life is in danger. The Irish government said that it would bring legislation to allow abortions in hospitals when doctors determine that a mother’s life is at risk.
The move comes seven weeks after the death of 31-year-old Savita Halappanavar, who was 17 weeks pregnant. She had a miscarriage and died of septicaemia three days after requesting an abortion at Galway hospital which she wasn’t allowed to undergo.
Abortion is banned in Ireland as per a papal diktat. It is one of two European Union countries — the other being Malta — where women cannot have an abortion even when their lives are in danger.
Ireland’s cabinet made the announcement of legalizing abortion after intense public pressure came from secular elements following Halappanavar's death. The bill will be drafted in the New Year and debated by the Irish parliament’s health committee before it is voted upon in the house known as the Dail.
As a doctor I welcome the decision to legalize abortion. People who still argue that a ban on abortion is pro-life, Savita’s case should have made it clear by now that it can often end up taking lives that could have been saved otherwise.
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