Choice Ireland

Choice Ireland spokesperson Sinéad Ahern has said that reports of two recent cases abroad in which women have needed abortions for medical reasons underscore the need for legislation to clarify when this procedure can be carried out in Ireland.

Ahern said,

“Recently in Phoenix, Arizona, doctors treating a woman with pulmonary hypertension found that her condition could be fatal if she continued with her pregnancy. She had a termination in order to save her life. Her case came to public attention when a nun on the hospital’s ethics committee, which had approved the abortion based on the medical evidence, was excommunicated for upholding the woman’s right to life.

“This week British media reported on the abortion obtained by a woman whose pregnancy caused her to suffer from hyperemesis gravidarum, with symptoms including severe hypertension, vomiting 40 times a day and inability to eat or drink. This condition can ultimately cause renal failure, neurologic disease, malnutrition and muscle disorders, with potentially long-term implications.

“These tragic cases, both of which involved wanted pregnancies, put the lie to the claim by anti-abortion extremists that so-called ‘direct abortions’ are never medically necessary. Their ‘never never never’ approach would ignore the medical evidence and put the lives and health of these women in jeopardy.

“An Irish woman in similar circumstances would not have the options these women had. The state’s ongoing failure to legislate for the X case means that it is unclear at what point the threshold is reached for a ‘real and substantial risk’ to her life, allowing her to have an abortion under the eighth amendment. There is a strong likelihood that she would be unable to find a doctor willing to risk prosecution by carrying out the procedure. This was the experience of two of the women involved in the ABC case before the European Court of Human Rights.”

Ahern concluded, “Choice Ireland believes in a woman’s right to make her own determination as to when abortion is in her best interest. However, it is particularly outrageous that she and her doctor are effectively prevented from doing so even on medical grounds. The law must be clarified as a matter of urgency. We again call for immediate legislation for X as a first step in securing women’s full reproductive rights.” ENDS