Ireland:Savita Halappanavar's death cynically exploited by Irish pro-abortion groups and international media

The death of Savita Halappanavar at Galway University Hospital is an appalling tragedy. Savita died from complications in her pregnancy. Savita's husband and family are in our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time. To them I tender my deepest sympathy. The precise reasons for her death are not clear. However it must be thoroughly investigated and lessons learned.

Dr Muiris Houston, health analyst for The Irish Times, said that all of the circumstances surrounding the incident had not been revealed yet. He described it as a "rare situation". "It is deeply shocking, but I think as responsible people we have to remember that you do need to hear all sides of the story before you make any definitive comment," he said. "I do believe we need to do that in this case."

University Hospital Galway is to carry out an internal investigation and will be cooperating fully with the coroner's inquest into Ms Halappanavar's death.

The HSE is finalising details for inquiry into death of Savita Halappanavar. It will be chaired by an international expert. The Minister for Health James Reilly has stated that the inquiry must stand up to international scrutiny. "What I want for the family is that, as quickly as possible, they have certainty about the facts of what happened here," he said. "And I want for the Irish people to be assured that they have the full facts also as to what happened here."

Pro abortion supporters have not been slow to take advantage of this tragedy and have cynically ramped up demands for the legalsation of abortion in Ireland. Yet there is no CERTAINTY as to the cause of her death. The Irish Medical Council’s guidelines on professional conduct and ethics clearly specify that “In current obstetrical practice, rare complications can arise where therapeutic intervention (including termination of a pregnancy) is required at a stage when, due to extreme immaturity of the baby, there may be little or no hope of the baby surviving. In these exceptional circumstances, it may be necessary to intervene to terminate the pregnancy to protect the life of the mother, while making every effort to preserve the life of the baby.” Medical Council President Prof Kieran Murphy has said that its current guidelines on abortion were decided in 2009 and reflect the current legal position. Prof Murphy said the guidelines are as accessible and as straightforward as possible and had received a plain English recognition mark.

The Catholic Church has also been viciously attacked. It is alleged by pro-aborts that it has too much influence on Irish legislation in this field. The Catholic pro-life position is that every woman with a serious physical illness is entitled to all treatment necessary to save her life even if the child unintentionally dies in the course of the treatment. The aim is to keep the mother alive not to kill the child. That is not abortion. It is a legitimate and moral medical procedure. Attacking the Catholic Church position on abortion is risible. People such as Labour party senator Ivana Bacik and former Socialist Party member Claire Daly want a liberal pro-abortion regime. No concern for the unborn is ever expressed by Bacik or Daly. The Labour Party is of course pro-abortion. Listening to Sinn Fein spokesman Caoimhghin O'Caolain it is glaringly obvious that Sinn Fein is also pro-abortion. He has stated that abortion should be allowed in cases of a suicide threat. Quite frankly this is outrageous. It would result in a liberal pro-abortion law. Any pregnant woman could threaten to commit suicide and thereby secure an abortion.

In another sinister turn of events The Life Institute has discovered that abortion campaigners had been given prior knowledge of the Savita Halappanavar case, and that they planned to use it to proceed with a campaign to have abortion legalised in Ireland. They cynically wished to use this tragedy to stampede the government into legalising abortion. They are beneath contempt.

Although the precise reasons for Savita's death have yet to be established an international media lynch mob has proceeded to tear Ireland's reputation to shreds. Much of the comment is ill-informed and hysterical. Many journalists without the full facts have attempted to paint the Irish as living back in the Dark Ages. India Times beta states: "After Ireland murdered a pregnant Indian dentist, after denying her an abortion as it was against their religious beliefs, we ask the very fundamental question – Are Ireland's Catholic Abortion Laws responsible for Savita's death? Well, it turns out that Savita could have lived if the Irish Parliament had stopped being religious fundamentalists long enough to replace the old draconian law that bans abortion, with a Supreme Court judgment that allowed abortion if the life of mother was in danger." The article also contains the following: Fundamentalist? Taliban-esque? Third World? The author of this rant is factually incorrect in relation to Irish law and in relation to the Catholic churches stance. Once more the Catholic Church position is that every woman with a serious physical illness is entitled to all treatment necessary to save her life even if the child unintentionally dies in the course of the treatment. Is it to much to expect journalists to acquaint themselves with the facts. Incidentally The maternal mortality rate in INDIA is 540 per 100,000. In IRELAND it is 6 per 100,000. See: Nationmaster.com. Are we to conclude that India is Fundamentalist? Taliban-esque? Where does the India Times stand on this figure? The Guardian, Huffington post amongst others have weighed in. Mr Maruti of the Indian Congress Party has demanded a change in the Irish law on abortion. Is this individual serious? Has he not seen India's horrific maternal mortality rates?

What we have got is a feeding frenzy fueled by hatred of Catholicism and pure ignorance. In some cases the "journalism" has degenerated to the level of the gutter. Conclusions have been drawn without access to the full facts. Is it too much to ask people to wait for the results of the inquiries? Is it too much to expect pro- abortion supporters to desist from spurious claims and to cease making political capital out of this tragedy?

Addendum: An editorial in the Irish Examiner (November 17-2012)concludes as follows: "It is time for the great majority in the middle ground to make their voice heard so we never again expose a woman to the barbarisms that ended Savita Halappenavar’s life. Not only is it time to resolve outstanding legislative issues, it is time to confront zealots of all hues". The editorial writer does not have access to the full facts. Yet he/she is not slow to use emotional language attacking the "barbarisms" that ALLEGEDLY ended Savita's life. It seems the writer is prejudging the outcomes of investigations into the tragedy. Ireland can do without such emotional language. Incidentally the writer might care to define the term zealot as used in relation to the pro-life movement. Perhaps he/she might care to define the term "middle ground" as used in the editorial. Finally it is important to reiterate that Irish prolife groups support the principle that every woman with a serious physical illness is entitled to all treatment necessary to save her life even if the child unintentionally dies in the course of the treatment.There is no zealotry there.

The editorial writer of the Irish Examiner might care to view the following:

Breda O'Brien: Lack of outcry over advice by crisis pregnancy agencies is extraordinary irishtimes.com/newspaper/opin…

— David Quinn (@DavQuinn) November 10, 2012