Quote of the Month: Abortion Is About Saving Women’s Lives
Hello Readers! We thought it might be interesting to highlight a pro-choice quote every month. So, here is the quote for January 2013!
Last year, we were all saddened by the death of Savita Halappanavar , who was denied an abortion that could have saved her life. Since her death, Ireland has allowed doctors to perform the procedure if the woman’s life is at risk. This decision raised a few eyebrows, because it still allows doctors to decide what that “risk” really is. This means, some doctors could very well deny the risk, and therefore deny the procedure!
But recently Dr. Rhona Mahony, the Master of the National Maternity Hospital has said that her doctors will not hesitate to perform a life-saving abortion.
Here’s what she said about the abortion herself, and we decided to make it quote of the month!
It (Abortion) is not about terminating pregnancies by destroying babies. It’s about saving women’s lives.
-Rhona Mahony, The Master of the National Maternity Hospital
We had an interesting back and forth about this on Twitter with RHM Journal (who retweeted us) and Doctor’s For A Woman’s Choice on Abortion (DWCA_UK).
ASAP’s orginal tweet was:
RHM Journal retweeted us, and DWCA_UK responded immediately saying:
This is very true! Several women in Ireland have shared their stories over the last year – many of them were forced to carry their pregnancies, whereas others were forced to spend a large amount of money to get a safe abortion in the United Kingdom. Others risked backalley abortions. But, a woman really shouldn’t have to be dying to get an abortion. It is her right to choose if and when she wants to be a mother.
But as RHM Journal says:
So, we think that Dr. Mahony — by promising services — has actually reminded Ireland’s medical force of its obligations! Hopefully never again will there be a sad story like that of Savita Halappanavar.
