Limited abortion rights introduced in historic Irish legislation

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Henry McDonald in Dublin
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 1 May 2013 00.58 BST

The Irish government introduced historic legislation on Tuesday that will allow for some limited legal abortion in the Republic.

However, the new bill, which will have to be passed in both houses of the Irish parliament, will not include cases concerning rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormalities.

And a controversial measure in the new proposed law stating that a woman seeking an abortion because she is suicidal will have to be assessed by up to six doctors, including psychiatrists, has been condemned by pro-choice groups.

The protection of maternal life bill means that medical staff looking after the Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar last autumn in Galway University hospital would have had clear, legal guidelines when they considered her requests for an emergency termination. The 31-year-old died in the hospital from sepsis/blood poisoning and was refused an abortion.

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Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/01/limited-abortion-rights-ireland

[Warpy]

1. Good luck to them. Catholic dogma says a woman's life

is worth less than that of the fetus and should be readily sacrificed to preserve even a non viable fetus and even if doing so kills them both.

And they wonder why I left.

[riderinthestorm]

2. Ugh. Better than nothing I suppose but far short of desirable. K&R nt

[Control-Z]

3. Well, I guess it is a first step for them.

Saving the life of the mother shouldn't be a question - ever!!

[sakabatou]

4. Baby steps are better then no steps, I guess.

[alp227]

5. if THIS is the best they've got,

it's a good reason why SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE is the best policy! The Irish Constitution DOES mention God unlike the US Constitution: "The State acknowledges that the homage of public worship is due to Almighty God. It shall hold His Name in reverence, and shall respect and honour religion." In contrast to "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

[freshwest]

6. +1

[rizlaplus]

9. The same Irish constitution also gives protection to the family ...

... and that didn't prevent the taking of 170,000 children from their families and their incarceration in horrific institution where they were physically and sexually tortured by clergy while the State stood idly by - in thrall to the Church.

Slowly but surely Ireland is separating itself from that vile organization, and this small codifying of the law in the X Case child saga will spur the momentum.

[Hekate]

7. Goody, this brings Ireland right up to about 1903 or thereabouts

Ugh.

[McCamy Taylor]

8. The Catholic Church still has its claws in Ireland, long after it ceased to represent "patriotism."

[dipsydoodle]

10. Kick

I duplicated this in error - apologies.