Savita #Never Again | Audrey Ellard Walsh
One year ago in volume 19, Issue 6 of The Express I wrote about the need for renewed debate on the X Case in the wake of the 20th anniversary of the ruling. I discussed the need for clear legislation on the matter of abortion in the case of women’s lives being placed in danger by continuing their pregnancies. I received hate mail form right-wing readers who not only informed me that I was a terrible person and a poor writer, but also that I was wrong and that Ireland is in fact the safest place in the world for pregnant women- “women do not die from want of abortion”.It is of course with deep distress that I was proven to be correct last week, and it is with pain and anger that I write this article. News of the death of Savita Halappanavar in Galway last threw into relief the real and certain dangers of a legal system which is ambiguous on the issue of abortion. Savita was a previously healthy 31 year old woman who was hospitalised for back pain. When it became clear that her agony was caused by a miscarriage of her 17 week pregnancy she was denied the abortion she begged for due to the presence of a foetal heartbeat. She was informed by a nurse that the reason for this decision was because Ireland is a Catholic country. The heartbeat eventually stopped but Savita had developed infection and passed away from septicaemia on October 28th.The Supreme Court ruled in 1992 that a woman has the right to seek an abortion in the event of her life being put at risk. This ruling was envisioned to lay the bones of legislation by government to protect the lives of women in Ireland. Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore claims that “We need to bring legal clarity to this situation and that is what we are going to do.” and yet now, almost 21 years on, we are faced with the cold consequences of inaction on this matter.The question stands, had the Government legislated on the X case earlier, would Sevita still be alive? I believe so. I believe that this Government have blood on their hands. Those we entrust to legislate have consistently failed and continue to do so. Gilmore states that “there have been six Governments in this State since the Supreme Court judgment in 1992 and they have not dealt with it. This will not be the seventh.” However just weeks after a motion was passed at Labour Party conference in April which mandating the parliamentary party to support any moves to legislate for the X case, the party voted against Socialist Party TD Clare Daly’s motion on that exact issue. In what was clearly a vote based on partisanship, the Government hid behind excuses of awaiting the Expert Group’s findings on the matter.It is clear that legislation is needed immediately. The current situation of ambiguity and fear surrounding the issue of termination must be clarified to allow doctors the freedom to follow appropriate courses of action and in other cases to prevent them from hiding behind Catholic dogma. Never before have I felt as betrayed to be a woman in modern Ireland. By continuously failing to legislate on X the Irish Government are turning their backs on women and women’s rights. A state that views the life of a woman as less than an unviable heartbeat is not a state I wish to live in.Linda Kelly, co-founder of Cork Feminista stated last week that “It is completely unacceptable that in 2012 women are dying because the Government is too cowardly to legislate for the X case. We are heartbroken for Savita and her family and we can only hope that her death will not be in vain. We are renewing our call to the Government to legislate for the X case so that this never happens again.”And as people continue to gather and echoes of “never again” rumble down our main streets, this Government must see that the time for making excuses is long past. 21st century Ireland is not a Catholic country and religion has no place in the legislative process. It is not the will of the people to see healthy women die for want of adequate medical care. It is not the will of the people to see women pass in pain and indignity for want of legal clarity. The National Women’s Council has revealed that over 55,000 emails were sent through their online campaign to TDs asking them to make legislation for X a government priority. The people are speaking, and they want action on X.Savita’s death was an avoidable tragedy and the pain that her husband Praveen and his family are forced to endure is only compounded by that fact. But we cannot see this event go unchecked. This has to make a difference. It is imperative that we do not less this case pass by. Email your TDs, support online campaigns and discuss the issue with friends. A motion urging the Students’ Union to adopt a pro-choice stance is due to be brought to Student Council this Wednesday. Attend and make your voice heard.