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New York protest planned over pregnant Indian woman’s death in Irish hospital

Protests continue as Irish PM says they will not be rushed on abortion law

CATHY HAYES,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Saturday, November 17, 2012, 7:30 AM

Updated Saturday, November 17, 2012, 7:30 AM

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A New York vigil is being planned for Savita Halappanavar, the young Indian dentist who died in a Galway hospital after being refused an abortion of her non viable fetus.

Photo by Irish Times

A New York vigil for Savita Halappanavar, the young Indian dentist who died in a Galway hospital after being refused an abortion of her non viable fetus will be held at Barnard College in Manhattan on Monday night from 5:00 to 6:00 organizers have announced.

International and Irish anger over Ireland’s abortion laws continues with rallies being planned in Dublin, on Saturday, New York, on Monday, India and other locations around the world. However, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has said that the government will not be rushed into making a decision on the abortion laws of Ireland following the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar in Galway.

Savita was denied an abortion due to Irish law. The 17-week pregnant, medical professional, begged for a termination, as she was in the middle of a miscarriage. Instead the doctors waited to operate until the fetus’ heart had stopped. Savita died of blood poisoning. The 31-year-old Indian dentist’s husband told the press that his wife was in agony for days before she died on October 28.

Since her death there has been outrage among Ireland’s residents and around the globe over the lack of abortion legislation in Ireland. Although 20 years ago Ireland’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of abortions being legal if the mother’s life was at risk no government thus far has tackled the issue.

Speaking to RTE, Ireland’s national broadcaster, on Friday, Enda Kenny said “This is a matter that has divided Irish society now for a great number of years, and I am not going to be rushed into a situation by force of numbers on any side.”

He added “This is something that has to be dealt with rationally, and openly and truthfully and that is what will happen.”

On Thursday evening Eamon Gilmore, the Deputy Prime Minister, had pledged that the Irish government would clarify Ireland’s abortion laws. An expert report carried out by Ireland’s Ministry for Health was submitted to the government this week and will be published having been discussed by the government.

In India the government has vowed to take up the matter of abortion with the Irish government through diplomatic channels, the Times of India reports. Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, of the Karnataka government, in the south west region of India wrote a letter to Savita’s father Andaneppa Yalagi and Belgaum deputy commissioner, Anbu Kumar, expressing his condolences.

Shettar wrote “I was pained to know a precious life was lost because proper medical care was refused...Humanity precedes legality” and said the Galway hospital should have considered an abortion.

The Minister continued "This is a serious issue. There is a lot of public anger and protest. To ensure justice to the victim, we are taking up the issue with Ireland through the government of India.”

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BrianO | Nov 20, 2012, 09:50 AM EST

If only we could get New York to protest 4 dead in Bengazi, abandoned by their fearless president. But whats an ambassador and some navy seals lives in the big scheme of things, seven hours watching them die a slow death really just good video for obama, a little reality tv, He is off to Burma, oops Myramar, wouldn't want to offend any despots.

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barneyjo | Nov 20, 2012, 04:41 AM EST

@EamonDublin - "Due diligence" by any other name is still due diligence!! Point made. And, as regards the potential for further fall-out, I understand that Indian Police are having to guard the Irish Embassy in Delhi, due to the strength of feeling that this incident has provoked. To paraphrase Gerry Adams, the tragic consequences of the death of Savita Halappanavar "are not going to go away you know"!!

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EamonnDublin | Nov 20, 2012, 03:28 AM EST

!Barneyjo" - Due diligence is one thing. Summoning the Irish ambassador to account for ourselves, with a remark that this could "become an international diplomatic incident" is quite another. As in all things, it's the way it's done. Éamonn - Extremely Proud to be Irish - where the rate of death in childbirth is one of the very lowest in the world.

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barneyjo | Nov 19, 2012, 03:51 PM EST

@EamonDublin - not the point at all. The point or principle of a State having a duty of care to its naturalised citizens both at home and abroad. "The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ireland requests all whom it may concern to allow the bearer, a citizen of Ireland, to pass freely and without hinderance, AND TO AFFORD THE BEARER ALL NECESSARY ASSISTANCE AND PROTECTION" This as you know is written in the first page of a standard Irish Passport, pointing to an established international convention as I am sure there is a similar request contained within an Indian passport. So the Indian Government is well within its rights to ensure that one of its citizens received "all necessary assistance and protection" So, due diligence and not slander or slur as you have heavily intimated!!

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EamonnDublin | Nov 19, 2012, 01:01 PM EST

Ciara, If you were Indian or Chinese, or from some other countries also, you might not even be here - they have plenty of abortions when it is known that the baby is to be a girl. Now, want to have another little think? Best Wishes to You, Éamonn, Dublin, Extremely Proud to be Irish.

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ciaradexy | Nov 19, 2012, 12:11 PM EST

Time to legalise abortion. 100% pro choice. Its not for me or anyone else to make a decision for a pregnant woman, its entirely her decision.

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EamonnDublin | Nov 19, 2012, 11:46 AM EST

"BarneyO" - You answered your own ponderance. Michaela McAreavy (God Rest her sweet soul) was murdered. The death of Savita Halappanavar (God rest her sweet soul) is the subject of an investigation, and until the result of this investigation is known the Indian government has no reason to believe her death was due to criminal action. In fact, I don't believe that anybody in a sane state of mind would consider her death to have been caused by criminal activity or inactivity. Éamonn, Dublin, Ireland.

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eiriamach | Nov 19, 2012, 10:01 AM EST

What the Indian government does or says is irrelevant to what the Irish government must do and has too long delayed doing. Savita's case underscores the fact that risks to women with problem pregnancies entering Irish hospitals are dire and urgent. Why do men think they have the right to a law that deprives women of a basic human right to life-saving medical procedures? Hospital staff refused this woman an abortion of a dying fetus--when her life was at immediate risk and no other life could benefit from the sacrifice of her life. It makes no rational sense; it makes sense only at the level of an irrational lust for power, the power to deprive women of a legitimate, God-given human right, autonomy of conscience. It's shameful and utterly indefensible. Just look at the irrational words and fantasies of control in comments here-- "mandatory "counseling"! and Ireland need do nothing because Indian critics are hypocrites? Enough nonsense from men!

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barneyjo | Nov 19, 2012, 04:51 AM EST

@EamonDublin - I would have thought that it would be incumbent on a Government, any Government be it Irish or Indian to make representations on behalf of the friends and family of one of its citizens who dies abroad. The sad case of Michaela McAreavy is a case in point. The Irish Government rightly in my view made representations to the Government of Maritius when it became clear that there was a criminal motive behind her death, and to establish the facts behind that death. This being the case, then the Indian Government is doing just the same on behalf of the family of one of its citizens who has died abroad in circumstances which remain far from clear at this point!!

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EamonnDublin | Nov 19, 2012, 04:22 AM EST

"EiriAmach" - Your adolescent excursion into semantics and pedantics has become over tiresome. The death of Savita was a great tragedy, as was the death during childbirth of two Irish women in the Coombe Hospital in Dublin within 48 hours two months ago - albeit we have heard nothing in the media about the latter. I repeats - the deaths are a great tragedy. I also repeat that the Indian government, by attacking Irish society and medical care over one of those deaths, is hypocritical in the extreme when one examines India's culture of killing thousands of innocent young women in the name of family honour. Now, have I made myself clear enough for you? Éamonn, Dublin.

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Gearoid4 | Nov 18, 2012, 09:37 PM EST

Thanks for your reply, Barneyjo, as you are as erudite and thought provoking as ever. I agree that unfortunately thousands of Irish women have made the trip across the Irish sea to end their pregnancies, but I sincerely think that they deserve much better than referral to the nearest abortion mill. The psychological consequences of abortion on women can be devastating and it is preferable that they receive counselling before embarking on such a decision, due to it's negative impact.

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barneyjo | Nov 18, 2012, 07:20 PM EST

@Gearoid4 - Thank you for your response, although I note it has no direct bearing on the points I raise. And that is historically and culturally, generations of Irish women (both catholic and protestant) have exposed themselves to the risks of poor medical care, unlicensed abortionists both in Ireland and England, rather than endure the shame imposed upon the Irish Nation and its psyche, by agents of the state, which you will concede were heavily influenced by both the Catholic Church and by the Reformed churches (in NI where the 1967 abortion bill was never implemented. Your concern re the availability of abortion on demand is also negated by the fact that abortion on demand is and has been available to Irish women for many years; you are as aware as I am of the numbers of Irish women who have gone to England to have terminations. And this exodus didnt start today or yesterday. I agree with you absolutely that there should be no indecent haste to rush to implement bad law. Equally though, the "status quo" which has stood for so long, is in my view, no longer tenable in view of what happened in Galway. Like you I await with interest the outcome of the investigation into the regrettable death of this young woman. I am however fearful that it will be shown in the eyes of the world that she was a victim of bad law, and medical malpractice. And that SHOULD be a concern for all Irish people.

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eiriamach | Nov 18, 2012, 06:45 PM EST

"do not deny me to broaden the issue as I feel." Of course not! I have not and would never try to censor you or shut you up. But just as I support your freedom to say what you feel, I insist on mine to voice my opinion too, even when my opinion is that you've gotten it wrong in a way that I find illogical or offensive. "cannot allow others a viewpoint"?? Now who's making "ridiculous and patently false accusations"?

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EamonnDublin | Nov 18, 2012, 06:05 PM EST

"EiriAmach" - This is just gone far too ridiculous. I said what I thought about Savita's tragic death and I went on to comment about what I considered to be offensive comments by the Indian authorities. One is allowed to broaden the issue, which I did - otherwise a "debate" simply turns into "Right - wrong - right - wrong" and gets nowhere. You are entitled to stick to your rigid discipline and not go outside the box, but please do not deny me to broaden the issue as I feel. As for your reasoning on your use of the word "maybe" when implying that I am a racist, are you seriously saying that if I say, for example, "EiriAmach, I think maybe you are an idiot", that I am REALLY saying that I think you are the height of intelligence? Come on, you were CLEARLY saying I am a racist - the last resort for cycloptic people who cannot allow others a viewpoint. Éamonn.

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eiriamach | Nov 18, 2012, 05:05 PM EST

Eamonn, I've looked again at your 3.52 post on Kate Hickey's article, and it is clearly NOT addressed to the tragedy of Savita's death. It IS an attack on the Indian government. Although you begin by saying that you do not wish "to diminish the awful tragedy of the Indian lady, Savita, and her unborn baby," after that pre-text, all of your posting is about "so-called "honour killings" in India. That's a transparent attempt, I concluded earlier (after you refused to consider the problem one of logic--red herring/ shift of theme), to distract attention from the crucial question of what IRELAND--not India--could have done or needs to do to avoid more such tragedies. No doubt there are many blogs on which you can voice your opinion on Indian atrocities and criticisms of the Catholic Church, but this particular set of articles is not about that. I will not apologize for caring deeply, as many women do, about the legal disadvantages of women under Irish law. You seem unable to deal with the fact that such disadvantages exist. BTW: the word "maybe" never adds up to an accusation and often connotes a query.

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