The topic of abortion has always been controversial and a cause for debate all over the world. People either argue for the morality of preserving the unborn and their right to life or the right of women to bodily autonomy. In Ireland for example, abortion was illegal until 1st January 2019, following 66.4% of the population voting to repeal the Eight Amendment (Abortion Rights Campaign, 2019). Although the law legalizing abortions in Ireland has been passed and voted in by the majority, many people still believe that it is immoral to abort an innocent, unborn child. The referendum to bring in the Eight Amendment in September 1983, just over thirty years ago, was voted in by 67% (Pro-Life Campaign, 2019a). It is not that long ago that this law was passed, and although it has been amended now, the most recent legislation was not passed by a particularly overwhelming majority vote. Because there is such a large number of campaigners on both sides of the issue, it is still a large cause for animosity in society. Like these people, I agree that abortion is immoral, however, I think there should be exceptions made in the case of imminent danger to the mother, or the case of rape. It is immoral to force a woman to risk her life if she chooses not to and it is immoral to force a woman to keep a child of rape if she chooses not to. However, it is also immoral to deny an unborn child the right to life outside of those situations.
Before the repeal of the Eighth Amendment in Ireland, the law stated that “The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right” (Irishstatutebook. ie, 2019). The Pro-Life campaign advocates that this law is the reason for many people’s lives in Ireland. They claim that because many women had to plan to travel to England for an abortion, it gave them more time to think about their decision and the opportunity to change their minds. Many people in Ireland, maybe even our neighbors or friends, are alive today because of this. A study carried out by Pro-Life campaigners investigated the impact of the Eighth Amendment and how it has contributed to Irish society. They discovered that approximately 100,000 people’s lives were saved and that the Irish abortion rate is a low 1 in 19 pregnancies, compared to 1 in 5 in the UK. This means that if abortion had been legalized in Ireland, an estimated 196,000 people would have lost their right to life and not been born. The study aims to bring light to the fact that the Eighth Amendment should be celebrated for saving lives (LoveBoth Project, 2019a).
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Many Pro-Choice campaigners have used the tragic case of Savita Halappanavar as an example of why Ireland needed to repeal the Eighth. After her untimely death, Savita’s husband even claimed that she might have been “born to change the law” (White, 2013). While this case led to a surge in public demand for a repeal as many believed her death was a result of the abortion legislation, the inquest report did not support that argument. Doctors in Ireland are not prohibited by law from inducing delivery to cause a miscarriage in a situation such as Savita’s (Pro-Life Campaign, 2019b). An Irish Examiner article by Victoria White claims that blaming Savita’s death on the abortion law is nothing but a “smokescreen” that is hiding the real reason; Ireland’s inadequate health system. While one of Savita’s midwives admitted that she had insisted that Ireland was a Catholic country in an attempt to explain why they could not perform a termination, that explanation was not the case (O’Carroll, 2018). Savita was not refused an abortion because of the Eighth Amendment, but because her consultant, Dr Katherine Astbury, saw no severe threat to her life (White, 2013). White again claims that Dr Astbury should have acted off of the medical evidence in front of her immediately and performed the termination as she would not have faced any legal penalty, however due to her and her team’s misinterpretation of the law, they chose to “await events” (O’Carroll, 2018; White, 2013). The reason for her death was that Dr Astbury and the University Hospital Galway staff overlooked the sepsis and E. coli that inevitably killed Savita (O’Carroll, 2018). A report by HIQA also holds the hospital staff responsible as they were duty-bound to provide Savita with the appropriate care in her time of need, yet they did not (White, 2013). If Savita had received the right and legal care that she needed and requested, she would probably still be alive today (O’Carroll, 2018).
Rape is a worldwide problem. Evidence presented to the Oireachtas committee showed that Dublin Rape Crisis Centre director Noreen Blackwell, and medical director of the National Sexual Assault Treatment Unit service Dr Maeve Eogan, stated that approximately 1 in 20 women who are victims of rape become pregnant (Whelan, 2018). That is roughly 114 of the 2270 women who reported a rape or sexual assault in 2018 (McCrave, 2019). Blackwell also shed light on an example of the choices made by eleven women who became pregnant as a result of rape; four decided to keep the child, one gave the child up for adoption, one had the child fostered, one had a miscarriage, one outcome was unknown, but only three chose to have an abortion (Whelan, 2018). The Eighth Amendment denied victims of rape the right to an abortion and also meant that they could potentially be imprisoned for longer than their rapist if they sought one (Murroni, 2017). Although these women should be given the option during their incredibly difficult time, as a law, it would be extremely challenging to implement as an exception to the rule. Generally, it takes roughly 645 days for a decision to be made in the criminal court for a rape case. It can also be extremely upsetting for a rape victim to recount the details of the assault, especially while pregnant (Whelan, 2018). However, in an ideal world where a woman is taken at her word, and tells the truth, she should have the right to a termination if she requests one as it is immoral to force her to endure any more pain. The Love Both Project states that while rape is a very traumatizing experience, an abortion can also be traumatizing and can lead to lifelong regret; but women should at least have the option (LoveBoth Project, 2019b).
The Eighth Amendment has saved many lives in Ireland. It has protected people’s right to life; however, it is not perfect legislation. Women whose lives are endangered by their pregnancy should not have to die; that is immoral. Women also have a right to life. In the case of Savita Halappanavar, the procedure that she requested, which could have potentially saved her life was legal and should have been carried out, but due to medical negligence and a wrong interpretation of the law, she lost her life. The result of an unclear, and in some similar cases insufficient, legislation is the loss of lives that could have been prevented if the law was clearer and had some more leeway in cases where the life of the mother is at stake. In the case of rape victims, women and young girls should not have to endure the result and lifelong reminder of a brutal assault on them if they do not want to. It is immoral to force that pain onto someone who has already been the victim of one of the most traumatic experiences a person can face. In other cases, such as a drunken one-night stand, or merely just having unprotected sex, it is immoral to have an abortion. There are more than enough ways to stay safe when having sex; condoms, the contraceptive pill, the coil, etc. The real issue around crisis pregnancy in Ireland is the lack of services for people which can lead some people to believe that abortion might be their only option. People who have an unplanned pregnancy, can seek counselling to help them prepare for having a child, or they can consider adoption services. There is no excuse for terminating an innocent life because of one’s ignorance, or perhaps even laziness, to take the necessary precautions when having sex. While the options for an unplanned pregnancy in Ireland might be few, there is always an alternative to abortion. Ireland has failed its women and its unborn, not by prohibiting abortions, but by giving them very few options for support in their time of need. In 2016, around 3,265 Irish women traveled to the UK for an abortion (Murroni, 2017). How many of those lives could have been saved if Ireland offered these women better alternatives?
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