The politicisation of abortion has endangered women

The story that came to light in recent weeks about the woman from Limerick who almost died after undergoing an abortion is something that could have been avoided if senior members of government had listened to pro-life TDs and accepted the amendments they proposed prior to the passage of the new abortion law in 2018.

But abortion supporting TDs were too preoccupied with pushing the abortion bill to listen to genuine concerns raised about the adverse impact the proposed new law could have, not just on the lives of unborn babies but also on the health and welfare of women accessing abortion.

The story that broke in The Daily Mail on March 25 about the recent research in the Irish Medical Journal concerning the woman who almost died after not receiving an ultrasound prior to the abortion (that would have detected the ectopic pregnancy), mirrors the precise amendments that pro-life TDs called for back in 2018 – amendments that were greeted with ridicule and scorn from some TDs who repeated like a mantra that the new law was all about ‘healthcare’.

Amendment

Over and over, pro-life TDs sought an amendment that would have required an ultrasound prior to undergoing an abortion, but on each occasion they were shouted down. Their proposal was also strenuously rejected by the then Minister for Health Simon Harris.

During the report stage of the Dáil debate in November 2018, Peter Fitzpatrick TD said: “The importance of ultrasound for determining the gestational age of the unborn child and for protecting the life or health of the woman who is undergoing an abortion cannot be overstated, particularly in circumstances where there are concerns about dating the pregnancy or where there is an ectopic pregnancy”.

Carol Nolan TD reminded her Dáil colleagues about the Amárach research findings published the previous month which showed that 79% of the public agreed with offering a choice to women to view an ultrasound prior to their abortion and she also highlighted the importance of ultrasounds for protecting the life and health of the woman.

Aontú leader Peadar Toibín referred at the time to the “worry and fear among doctors that if they do not have an ultrasound to make the necessary decision, first, they will not be doing the best for the mothers or the unborn children concerned and, second, they will put themselves in a very exposed situation because they will be making decisions without the best clinical diagnostic tools that are necessary”.

Several other TDs contributed to the debate – all highlighting the importance of ultrasound for dating the pregnancy and safeguarding the mother – and they were clear that the amendment wouldn’t require a woman to look at the ultrasound if she did not wish to do so.

The hostility from some TDs to the amendment forced the Ceann Comhairle to repeatedly interject to try and bring some order to the proceedings.

Simon Harris  said that ‘to subject every woman to an ultrasound… would be a terrible use of what people rightly point out is a scarce resource in the health service’”

Fine Gael TD at the time, Kate O Connell, said the amendment was “designed to inflict pain and to attempt to impose some sort of guilt” on women. Ruth Coppinger said the amendment sought to “shame women”, while Fianna Fáil’s Lisa Chambers said the amendment was “not about protecting women but rather judging, embarrassing and making them feel bad.”

In his emphatic rejection of the proposal, Simon Harris  said that “to subject every woman to an ultrasound… would be a terrible use of what people rightly point out is a scarce resource in the health service”.

In the end, just 21 TDs voted for the amendment. All 21 of them have been vindicated for their courage and support of the amendment.

The recent research published in the Irish Medical Journal regarding the case of the woman who almost died after her abortion was authored by members of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in University Maternity Hospital Limerick. It outlines how the 24 year old woman presented at the hospital with severe blood loss and abdominal pain due to a ruptured ectopic pregnancy.

She was treated with fluids and blood transfusions and thankfully survived the incident. The authors state that this near death occurrence “could have been prevented by an ultrasound for location of the pregnancy”.

As the World Health Organisation describes, medical abortion can make undiagnosed ectopic pregnancies particularly difficult to identify, since the symptoms of a ruptured ectopic pregnancy and a

medical abortion can be so similar. The Irish Medical Journal research paper concurs. The story highlights the impact of the decision by the Government and by then-Minister for Health Simon Harris in particular, to reject the ultrasound amendment.

Exacerbated

The risk to women has been further exacerbated by the introduction of telemedicine abortion also under Simon Harris’ watch in early 2020, despite having made a commitment in 2018 that “absolutely, termination of pregnancy services in Ireland is not going to be done by telemedicine”. Removing the requirement that a woman even meet her GP before receiving the abortion pills, precludes the possibility of an examination let alone an ultrasound.

Given how they protect and amplify support for legalised abortion, it’s not exactly surprising that large sections of the media chose to ignore this latest serious incident regarding the new abortion law.

It’s a story, nonetheless, that we must ensure isn’t ignored in the weeks and months ahead. Those who opposed the ‘ultrasound’ amendment so strenuously in the Dáil need to be challenged on their stance, particularly the new Taoiseach Simon Harris.

It is a great tragedy that so many of the predictions made by the Pro Life Campaign and others prior to the 2018 abortion referendum have already come to pass, including Ireland’s soaring abortion rate.

It’s all the more reason for people who want to see the injustice of abortion for women and unborn babies ultimately ended to use their vote carefully in the upcoming local and European elections and only vote for candidates who will speak up and defend the right to life.