Abortion has been a frequent news topic this week. The Irish Dáil is voting today on a bill that would allow limited abortion. In Chile, the pregnancy of a raped 11-year old girl has prompted talks about reforming the abortion ban. Both countries have extremely stringent abortion laws. In Texas, the abortion bill previously stopped by filibustering passed in the House of Representatives.
The Irish Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill would allow for an abortion to take place if a woman’s life is at risk. The most contentious part involves suicidal thoughts, where abortion would be allowed if three doctors agree that a woman is at risk of taking her own life because of the pregnancy. Technically, abortion has been available in Ireland since the 1992 Supreme Court ruling, which allowed the procedure to take place if the mother’s life, as distinct from health, is at risk. The original case was brought by a 14-year old rape victim, who had been banned from travelling to Britain for abortion and had expressed suicidal thoughts. The new bill has no concessions to cases involving rape or incest or for concerns over the mother’s health when her life isn’t in danger.
Catholic leaders have called the bill a “Trojan horse”, fearing that it will open the door to more widespread abortion. Over 20,000 people reportedly marched against the bill on the weekend in Dublin. Last night, anti-abortion activists held a vigil and some slept outside the Leinster House where the vote will take place later today. The Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin, appealed to the Dáil to vote against the bill, saying that "Knowingly, willingly and intentionally voting to promote abortion, which is the killing of an innocent child, is co-operation with evil and cannot be reconciled with your faith."
The bill comes as a reaction to the case of Savita Halappanavar, who died in October 2012, aged 31, after she was refused abortion while miscarrying. Her husband told that the doctors at the Galway University Hospital refused to terminate the pregnancy after discovering a foetal heartbeat, and his wife was told: "This is a Catholic country." Pro-choice protesters, albeit in smaller numbers than those opposed to the bill, demonstrated outside the Dáil, holding pictures of Mrs. Halappanavar. It has been estimated that every day, 11 Irish women leave for Britain to obtain an abortion.
In Chile, abortions have not been allowed in any circumstances after the procedure was outlawed in 1973 by Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. Bills that have suggested loosening the ban have not passed in the Parliament since. Currently, Chilean women who undergo abortions may face 5-10 years imprisonment, and doctors who perform them up to 15 years. However, the case of the 11-year old rape victim has sparked new discussion of abortion in the country. The girl had been repeatedly raped for years by her mother’s boyfriend, and is now 14 weeks pregnant. Medical experts say that there is a considerable risk to her health and the health of the baby because of her young age. The country’s former president, and the past head of the UN agency for women, Michelle Bachelet said on the case: "She's a girl who needs to be protected and therefore I think a therapeutic abortion, in this case because of rape, would be in order." Bachelet is the frontrunner in the presidential elections due to be held this year, and has promised to reform Chile’s abortion legislation.
Chile’s incumbent conservative president Sebastián Pinera is nevertheless against abortion even in underage rape cases. When the 11-year old appeared on TV on Monday saying that she would like to keep her baby because "It will be like having a doll in my arms" and that she was "going to love the baby very much, even though it comes from that man who hurt me", President Pinera praised the her decision as a show of "depth and maturity". Giorgio Agostini, a forensic psychologist, commented, "It's very likely that she is saying she wants to have the baby like a living doll ... So what the president is saying doesn't get close to the psychological truth of an 11-year-old-girl.”
Abortion is a contentious issue, especially in conservative Catholic countries such as Ireland and Chile. The Vatican has been extremely critical of abortion for centuries: even Pope Francis, hailed as a reformer, has said that “to abort is to kill someone who cannot defend himself”. But the truth is that blanket bans on abortion do not work. As stated, over 4,000 women leave Ireland yearly to obtain an abortion in Britain. In Latin America, most countries restrict abortion, so black market procedures can often be the only option. These are not only illegal, but extremely dangerous: it is estimated that abortions account for 10 per cent of maternal deaths in Chile. The case of Mrs. Halappanavar shows that even if abortion is technically tolerated, a culture that views it as the ultimate sin is dangerous.
It is not only Catholics who wish to rid their nations of abortion. Yesterday the Texas House of Representatives passed a controversial abortion bill. The bill, which will limit abortions to 20 weeks of gestation (because of disputed medical research which suggests it is the time when foetuses start feeling pain) and sets stricter regulations on medical centres providing the operation, was stopped from proceeding previously by the 11-hour filibuster of Sen. Wendy Davis.
Not all anti-abortion bills pass however: several attempts to introduce a “personhood” bill (i.e. a zygote should be considered as a person) in the USA have failed. In Ireland, a senior governmental figure tabled several amendments (none of which passed) to water down the now-debated bill, including one that would have required legal representation for the foetus in cases where the mother requests abortion for suicidal thoughts.
Those who oppose abortion claim to support the rights of the unborn. Makes one wonder – if a fertilised egg is to be considered a person, would she or he be held accountable if the mother’s health or life is lost?
