Well, it's happened again.
The 8th amendment of the constitution, the one that officially equates a woman's life with that of a foetus, has led to yet another horrible, tragic situation. If you haven't heard about it, a pregnant woman in her twenties tragically experienced a blood clot in her brain, leaving her clinically dead. However, because she was pregnant, she is now being kept alive to keep the foetus viable, despite the fact that her parents, who are her next of kin, want the life support turned off - as would happen if she weren't pregnant.
As a hospital source told the Independent:
The legal advice would be there is one life here and it is the unborn child. Everything practicable has to be done – and that’s both under the constitution and the legislation passed last year. There is also a high possibility the unborn child will not survive.
But just in case, essentially, a dead woman is serving as an incubator.
Law lecturer Dr Colin O'Mahony has a good run down of the legal situation here, which is also a reminder that, no matter what one's views on abortion are, the 8th Amendment is clearly a legal mess. Even Leo Varadkar, who describes himself as pro-life, came out recently and said that while the 8th Amendment "protects the right to life of the mother, it has no regard for her long-term health." Basically, if pregnancy means you will end up blind or brain damaged, then tough luck - Ireland still officially thinks you have to go through with it because, lest we forget, the life of a six week foetus is the same as yours.
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Savita HalappanavarIreland's hugely hypocritical abortion laws (we all know that any Irish woman with money can get an abortion, as long as she does it in Liverpool or London or Birmingham) have led to multiple minor and major tragedies (Savita Halappanavar will forever be in the minds of those who debate this), and heartbroken women are forced to leave the country in shame for a procedure than women all over Europe can access safely and easily. The 8th Amendment makes it impossible to change this. Every amendment on abortion introduced since then has had to work within its limited framework.
It was introduced in 1983, the brainchild of a group of hard-core conservative Catholics. I am 39 now. I was seven when the amendment was introduced. Like virtually all women of childbearing age, I was far too young to vote on it. And at this rate, my childbearing years will have passed by the time I do get a chance to vote on it. But there is a campaign to make sure it happens sooner.
The Repeal the 8th Campaign is demanding a referendum on removing it from the constitution. That won't legalise abortion in Ireland. It won't open the feared flood gates. Our laws won't immediately change. But it does mean that a woman's right to life will no longer be equated with a foetus. And it does mean that there is a chance for Ireland to finally and openly introduce more humane and honest laws on abortion. Until then, women will keep suffering in silence or traveling to England - until the next tragedy happens.
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What is your opinion on the potential referendum to repeal the 8th? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
