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| Savitha Halappanavar Photo: www.thejournal.ie/ Peter Morrison/AP/Press Association Images |
By V.R Krishna Iyer
Savita Halappanavar who had an unwanted pregnancy and because of great suffering demanded abortion and was denied the request because of Irish law and Catholic faith. She died undergoing great pain. This was inhuman. Law must be compassionate and merciful when a young woman becomes pregnant unwittingly and on account of unfortunate social circumstances desires to get rid of her pregnancy. Abortion is a right as a measure of social justice. Savita, a young lady discovered her pregnancy and wanted to get rid of it. Irish law was against abortion. She cried in pain and eventually died in distress. Catholic Law which prevails in Ireland is harsh and Savita’s pain is the penalty of this cruel law. In many countries humanism allows abortion. Poor Savita was a casualty of this unkind law. Life is paramount and where peril to life or excruciating pain follows the law must be humane and abortion is integral to compassionate Justice and law must accept justice. The rule of law must obey mercy and help the rule of life and humanity.
In honour of Savita Halappanavar; in honour of
the nearly 22 million women worldwide each year who endure unsafe abortion; in
honour of the 47,000 women per year worldwide who die from complications of
unsafe abortion and the estimated 10 times that number who suffer long-term
health consequences; in honour of the millions of women who do not have access
to contraception, who have no control over whether and with whom they have sex
or whether or with whom they have children, we can fight back. In honour of the
young girls married young and the women forced to bear children long past the
point they are able to care for more … for all these women, we must continue to
act, to liberalise abortion laws, ensure every woman has access, remove the
stigma, and trust women, like Savita, who know when it is time to end even the
most wanted pregnancy.
Maybe,
there is medical opinion of safe measures for pregnant young women who can avoid
abortion and save the baby and the mother.
These rare cases are no justification for the rule of life through the
right to abortion being guaranteed to every woman who faces a crisis consequent
upon an accidental unwanted pregnancy.
The rule of law must be realistic enough to support the rule of
life. Taking into considerationof the
fact that jurisprudence if pragmatic must come to the aid of the average common
woman without the availability of delicate medical facility, society which
decrees social and economic justice must take note of the fallibilities of
common people and make law pragmatic and accessible to save life. Then alone the rule of law serves the rule of
life and justice becomes humanist.
O Hidden Life, vibrant in every atom;
O Hidden Light, shining in every creature;
O Hidden Love, embracing all in Oneness;
May each, who feels himself as one with Thee,
Know he is also one with every other
Dr. Annie Besant
Liberalizing abortion laws can also be misused by the society especially in the concept of living together relationship. In the strict sense of the abortion laws itself can`t we liberalize the exceptions under the Act ?
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