We need to take abortion debate out of the hands of extremists and show our compassion

I think it is time that the abortion debate which has been raging in this country on and off for 30 years is taken out of the hands of the extremists and taken on by, what I hope is, the rational, compassionate majority of in-betweeners.

As a woman and a mother I am neither bogged down by fanatical, religious, ideology, nor do I accept that a woman should always have the choice of termination. I do not want to see private abortion clinics operating in this country, but I would like the debate to be guided by compassion and humanity.

We do not know what happened in Galway to poor Savita Halappanavar and her baby and we should not pre-judge the case. We do know what is happening every day to other women in this country.

It is clear that the failure to legislate for the X case means that there is not enough clarity around when a woman is currently constitutionally entitled to a termination, but it is also clear that legislating for the X case would not help with many other very difficult scenarios.

Where is the compassion and humanity in forcing a rape victim to carry her rapist’s baby? Where is the compassion and humanity in forcing a woman to continue with a pregnancy where she and her doctors know that the baby will not survive? This would be a form of torture for most women. Legislating for the X case would do nothing to help these women.

I find it extraordinary that unless there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother, the unborn should have equal right to life as a living, breathing woman (as per the eighth amendment to the Constitution).

When this amendment was included in 1983 the lack of rational debate meant that the vast majority of people who voted ‘yes’ probably did not realise that vindicating the right to life of the unborn would mean so much suffering for so many women in different circumstances.

I say this as a woman who always considered myself pro-life and who adored my three children long before they were born. How incredibly lucky I was. I also miscarried a baby at 12 weeks — this happens every minute of every day to women everywhere, often unnoticed.

I therefore think that there is an enormous difference between terminating a pregnancy in the first trimester and the horrendous late-term abortions that provide the fodder for the pro-life movement.

I know that there is no difference ideologically but in reality there is a very great difference. Surely we, as a compassionate, civilised nation can allow this decision to be made between a woman and her doctor in all sorts of unfortunate situations?

We cannot define every scenario where the compassionate thing to do is to allow a termination and I know it would be very difficult to allow it in certain circumstances and not others, but I trust our highly paid legal community could come up with something.

Such a law would require a change to the eighth amendment to the constitution, but maybe now as a society we would be able to debate this issue rationally and without allowing extremists to dominate.

As an in-betweener I will be writing to my politicians to make my views known. I hope others in the in-between camp do the same.

Kay Chalmers

Douglas

Cork