The plight of the Halappanavars indirectly highlights the narrowness of a “Catholic” law in an increasingly borderless world. The question now is whether the global valence of a woman’s death can inspire a national reckoning.
Hopefully, the tragedy of Savita will, at least, finally spur the Irish government to issue clearer guidelines that the life of the pregnant woman must be privileged over that of her fetus. But if the thousands demonstrating reflect changes already underway in Irish society—including a growing dissatisfaction with the Catholic Church’s influence—perhaps some day Savita Halappanavar will be remembered as the woman whose death was a turning point in the long struggle for the legalization of abortion in Ireland.
The Irish government has yet to regulate access to life-saving abortions in Ireland, despite the fact that such medical interventions have been legal in that country for two decades. The situation has created fear in both women and the medical profession alike.
While just about everyone agrees that female participation in athletic endeavors is great news, the down side is that sports injuries are on the rise since women—like men—often get hurt when they exert themselves.
In this week’s sexual health roundup: a new gel that combines testosterone with a synthetic version of progestin appears to lower sperm count with few side effects; a new study finds that women who are fearful of giving birth face longer labors and more medical interventions, and a survey finds many adults more willing to give up sex than their favorite foods for one year.
Stephanie Greene is being charged with murder. Her crime? Breastfeeding her newborn.
As I have watched national media coverage of this debate, it has been heartbreaking, frankly, to see women’s health treated as a political football. When I turn off the TV and look around my campus, I instead see the faces of the women affected, and I have heard more and more of their stories. I am here to share their voices and ask that you hear them.
Unlikely allies from both sides of the traditional “abortion” debate have come together in opposition to Prop 26, Mississippi’s egg-as-person initiative.
There is a subtle message–often coming from other women–that to truly experience childbirth, women must eschew medical interventions, including pain medication, and go “natural.” But some women are happy to put their deliveries in the hands of the medical establishment with its rules and regulations, its operating rooms, its NICUs, and its drugs. That’s a good choice, too.
