A controversial law permitting abortion on the grounds of mental health has come into effect in the Republic of Ireland.
The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act will allow terminations to “eliminate the risk of self-destruction,” where the mother threatens to commit suicide if she is denied the procedure.
Savita
It comes following the death of 31 year-old Savita Halappanavar, who died in Ireland’s Galway hospital after suffering from blood poisoning thought to have been caused by a miscarriage.
The incident was widely reported in the media, with the case being used by the pro-abortion lobby to push for a change in Ireland’s abortion laws.
Criticism
"However, the law is unnecessary and unwanted by the people of Ireland," says Andrea Williams, CEO of Christian Concern.
"The law in Ireland already permits doctors to terminate a pregnancy in circumstances where there is no other choice because of the threat to the mother’s life.
"There are real fears that the further weakening of the law will pave the way for abortion ‘on-demand’ in the country."
Maria Steen of the Iona Institute warned: “Irish law already allows the ending of a pregnancy when there is no other choice and there is a clear threat to the life of the mother.
“A decision to include a threat of suicide as a ground for abortion would also be wrong in principle because it would authorise for the first time ever the deliberate and direct destruction of unborn human life in Ireland”.
Furthermore, health experts in maternal care, including leading obstetricians and psychiatrists, have rejected claims that terminating a pregnancy is ‘solution’ to suicidal inclinations.
No evidence
The head of St. Patrick's University Hospital, Ireland's leading psychiatric hospital, said that there is “no evidence either in literature or from the work of St. Patrick's University Hospital that indicates that termination of pregnancy is an effective treatment for any mental health disorder or difficulty.”
Last year, Professor David Fergusson of the University of Otago in New Zealand published a research paper also pointing to the lack of evidence to support the view that abortion reduces mental health consequences for women. In fact, his findings show that women who have an abortion are at an increased risk of mental health problems.
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