Great sadness at death of Savita, a series of protests has begun to demand a change in the law on abortion

                                            The scene is outside the Irish Parliament (Dail) in Dublin. The purpose is to demand a change in the law on abortion in Ireland. The larger issue is the separation of Church and State in the laws of the country. Many hospitals are owned and managed by the Catholic Church which teaches that human life begins at the moment of conception not later.
They hold the life of the foetus is a human life and there is always an ethical dilemma when  Catholic medical staff are faced with the issue of balancing the rights of the foetus and the rights of the mother. Abortion is not available in Ireland, it is illegal. 

Abortion in the Republic of Ireland is illegal even in cases of rape or incest. Theoretically there is one case where it can be performed legally. That is only as the result of a medical intervention performed to save the life of the mother and where it is clear that the foetus is a direct threat to the life of the mother.

 In practice, doctors are reluctant to perform terminations of pregnancy in the absence of a readily available method of determining the circumstances in which an abortion might be lawfully obtained. (How can we be sure the mother will die if we don’t abort? How can we be sure the foetus is a direct threat to the life of the mother? We have a duty to treat both persons as living beings with equal rights.) Abortion is a controversial issue in Irish politics and five national referendums have been held on the topic in the last 30 years.

In Catholic schools students are taught that abortion is murder even if the life of the mother is in danger. In my time, we were shown graphic videos of what was described as the 'murder of innocent and defenseless babies in the womb.' When I asked a priest if abortion was justified in the case of a mother's life being in danger, I was told 'God will decide to save the baby or the mother'.
The doctors are not deliberately callous or cruel, they are products of the cultural constructs of Irish society and those constructs are supported by the laws of the state. In other religions, we see female genital mutilation being practised. Why? Because we are all influenced by the values of our religion and culture. This is why critical thinking, questioning our ideas and reflection are so important.
Ireland is nominally 95% Catholic but has been evolving into a more secular society over the last 20 years. Some think it has not been evolving fast enough. NOTE - THIS VIDEO CONTAINS SWEAR WORDS FROM AN AMERICAN NEWS SHOW. Sadly he weakens his argument but the first part of the report is interesting.

This issue has nothing to do with racism and everything to do with religion dictating the laws of the land. Irish women in Irish hospitals have also died because of this patriarchal policy.
The Catholic Church is a patriarchal society its popes, bishops and priests have all been male for 2000 years. In the United Nations, the Catholic Church (Vatican State) works with Saudi Arabia, Iran and other patriarchal theocracies to block progressive social policies particularly on women's rights. In the USA, the Catholic Church has formed alliances with the most extreme parts of the Christian Evangelical (Protestant) churches and some Islamic groups to block progressive legislation on individual rights for men and women. The issue is the power of religion to dictate medical ethics for everyone, even people who are not members of that religion.

Liberal thinkers argue that the decision should be made by the individual patient and the law of the state needs to be changed to empower women to have control over what happens to their bodies. While this is a very emotional issue it is also a question of ethics and the balancing of individual rights against those of a religion. We must build societies where we allow individuals the maximum personal freedom consistent with the common good. So far I have not seen any statements from priests or bishops (all men of course) on the current tragic case. Their silence is deafening. Our thoughts are with the family of Savita and our hope is that the publicity this case has generated will lead to a change in the law- allowing the individual woman to make decisions for herself- and prevent future tragedies such as this one.