Why hasn't Ireland changed its law?

If someone was dying and the doctors knew exactly how to save them, the medication was FDA approved and the sufferer wanted the treatment- you would expect the patient to survive. However, the recent article in the Telegraph reminded me that, the abortion law in Ireland means this sometimes isn’t the case.

For one of my A-levels I took an Extended Project Qualification and chose the topic “Is abortion a moral or molecular issue?” Although I came to the conclusion that it is a mainly moral and emotional decision, the biggest shock during my research was how many women have to have an unsafe abortion because they are illegal in the country they live in. 68000 women die annually after having an unsafe abortion…how can we stand here and watch this happen?

Irish law states that an abortion is legal if the Mother’s life is in danger, but after the death of Savita Halappanavar we know even then doctors refuse to carry out terminations. In Savita’s case, there was no chance of her baby surviving at all.

A report published by Amnesty International says: “Ireland’s abortion regime violates the fundamental human rights of women and girls, including their rights to life, health, equality, non-discrimination, privacy, information and freedom from torture and other ill-treatment.”

I couldn’t agree more.

I don’t understand why a country feels they should be able to force a women into carrying a child. And why they should have the right to tell a women what she should do with her own body, when the decision isn’t affecting the health or safety of others? The choice, which should be a basic human right, is taken away from her.

Irish women often have to travel to England for an abortion, or purchase abortion pills on the internet. If caught, they could be imprisoned for up to fourteen years. To me it seems ridiculous that women and girls trying to make an exceptionally difficult decision about their own life are thought of as criminals.

So if believing in freedom’s a crime, lock me up. Then throw away the key.

Have a beautiful day x