Today (7 April) is World Health Day. As such I, and some other pro-life bloggers from around and about are doing a blogswarm writing on how abortion is not health care.
Many pro-choicers claim that legal abortion is a necessary component of women’s health care. Given that abortion is closely linked to pregnancy and maternity, it is useful to look at maternal health indicators. This brings us to Ireland, land of the potato, rainy days, and the Irish – also land of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world, and the lowest maternal mortality rate in the world [1].
Abortion is defined as the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of the fetus or embryo (here-after referred to as the fetus for convenience sake) from the uterus, resulting in or caused by it’s death. A direct abortion is an abortion in which the purpose is to cause the death of the fetus, either before or after it has left the uterus.
In Ireland direct abortion is completely illegal, with no exceptions. How does this fit with the belief that abortion is a necessary component of women’s health care? Here is a statement from four Ob/Gyns, three of whom are Professors at prestigious universities in Ireland.
As obstetricians and gynaecologists we affirm that there are no medical
circumstances justifying direct abortion, that is, circumstances in which
the life of a mother may only be saved by directly terminating the life of
her unborn child.[2]
Here is another quote, again from an Irish Ob/Gyn:
After forty years as a consultant obstetrician/gynaecologist I can state:
– There is no conflict of interest between the mother and her unborn
child
– There are no medical indications for abortion
– There is no risk to the mother that can be avoided by abortion
– Prohibition of deliberate intentional abortion will not affect, in any
way, the availability of all necessary care for the pregnant woman.[3]
They both state that there are no circumstances which medically justify an abortion. Restating, there are no medical conditions, problems, or diseases that are cured by an abortion. None. No strange virus, no cancer, no infection is cured by killing an unborn child. This does not mean that in Ireland the doctors are not able to act to cure actual medical conditions, as viruses, cancers and infections are all treated. Also of course, dangerous complications during pregnancy, such as ectopic pregnancy or pre-eclampsia are treated, and do sometimes result, as an unavoidable side effect, in the unintentional death of the fetus.
It would never cross an obstetrician’s mind that intervening in a case of
pre-eclampsia, cancer of the cervix or ectopic pregnancy is abortion.
They are not abortion as far as the professional is concerned, these are
medical treatments that are essential to save the life of the mother.[4]
This is shown to be true in the quote below, from a Professor in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, about the medical situation of women in Ireland:
…..the Green Paper [on abortion] found no evidence that doctors in
Ireland failed to treat pregnant women with cancer or other illnesses
for fear such treatment might injure the unborn child.[3]
As stated previously, maternal health in Ireland is the best in the world [1]. This is because abortion, which is actually a rather dangerous procedure, both directly at the time, and for a long time afterwards, is not allowed in Ireland, and instead they focus on solving actual medical problems.
As a side note, abortion is actually quite dangerous. A single issue, and more relevant because it’s New Zealand research, is that having an induced abortion leads to a significant increase in risk of mental health problems. David Fergusson, a professor at Otago University based at Christchurch hospital conducted some studies (not sure how many – google him) that proved a causal link between abortion and an increased risk of mental health problems – 1.4 – 1.8 times the control rate. 98% of abortions in New Zealand are conducted on the grounds of risk to the mental health of the mother. This inconsistency is astounding.
References
[1]
Report on Maternal Mortality by World Health Organisation, UNICEF, UNFPA and the World Bank, 2007
[2]
Professor John Bonnar, Trinity College, Dublin;
Professor Kieran O’Driscoll, University College, Dublin;
Professor Eamonn O’Dwyer, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at
University College, Galway;
Julia Vaughan, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, 1992
[3]
Eamon O’Dwyer MB, MAO, LLB, FRCPI, FRCOG
Professor Emeritus, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, NUI Galway
[4]
Chairman of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Professor John
Bonner
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[...] Abortion: Not Health Care – Insights from Eire – Prolife New Zealand [...]
Hey that’s a good post. I totally agree with you. I wonder what sort of “sex education” is done in schools in Ireland and if abstinence is promoted rather than the safe sex education that is done here. Or is the rate of – dare I say it – unwanted pregancies the same as here but women there have carry pregnancy to term because abortion is illegal? Are there more adoptions in Ireland? A bit off topic but just got me wondering.
[...] Abortion: Not Health Care – Insights from Eire – Prolife New Zealand [...]
Hi Susan, I’m from Ireland so maybe I can answer some of your questions!
“Sex education” is very poor in Ireland, in my opinion. It’s not delivered in a coherent manner. It also focuses more on just the various types of contraception that are available – not exactly comprehensive! In my experience, it also fails to highlight the simple biological fact: sex = babies, sometimes even if contraception is used. And I think that’s something you need to be aware of and able to deal with the consequences of your actions.
This link has a lot of facts about crisis pregnancy and teen pregnancy rates: http://www.crisispregnancy.ie/factsandfigstwo.pdf , although note that crisispregnancy.ie is not a pro-life organisation.
It’s extremely difficult for Irish couples to adopt an Irish baby. There are virtually no domestic adoptions. Many couples adopt babies/toddlers from China, Russia, Thailand.
Another point about Ireland not having abortion is that we’ve emerged as the global leader in treating disease in pregnant women. Our doctors are at the forefront of pioneering technologies that treat the mother with as little damage to the baby’s health as possible. Yes, it’s more trouble to have to work around a pregnancy when treating an ill woman but what’s a little trouble when you’re saving two lives?!