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Pro Life Also Means Right To Life Of A Mother

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat

18 November, 2012
Countercurrents.org

The death of Savita Halappanvar, an Indian dentist in Ireland, due to refusal of abortion by doctors in Dublin has outraged every human being who loves life. Irish laws prohibit abortion though a 1992 court ruling suggested that it could be permitted if there is ‘real and substantive’ risk to the life of mother. However, it fell on the deaf years as doctors failed to respond to her deteriorating condition which resulted in her untimely death.

Thousands of people protested in front of Irish parliament as the incident has sparked furious debate among common persons world over and definitely the ‘prolife’ lobby of Catholic Church is finding it difficult to respond. The Indian government rightly asked the Irish Ambassador to keep them informed about the latest on this case. However, it is absolutely farcical on part of Indian media to overhype the issue as if these things do not happen here. Ireland has national laws and they are tremendous pressure after this incident. The government has already order and inquiry and hopefully the report would be made public.

According to Savita’s father in Belgaum when her health deteriorated they pleaded the doctors to save her life and allow abortion. It was the only condition to save her. It was not possible for her family to fly her to England where abortion is not illegal at the eleventh hour, as her condition was extremely critical. Unfortunately, nothing worked and shockingly a society which claims to care so much of ‘life’ allowed a person to die without giving her complete treatment.

Ireland is a democratic republic though with stronger Catholic world views. In fact the roman catholic church is dominant and powerful here and diktat government policies and infleucne public opinion though at the moment completely defensive. However, it is well known that the Catholic Church’s campaign for ‘Pro Life’ is getting wider and wider world over attracting conservatives everywhere. It does not want people to use contraceptives and believe life is given by ‘God’ This is in complete agreement with the Muslim mullahs and Hindu priests all of them feel that marriage is meant for ‘recreation’ and nothing else.

It was sad to see people defending this medical neglect as John Dayal rightly suggested even if one may not agree with his argument about lie. It is also a fact that for religionists deaths in the name do not matter as its God’s wish. However, the way the Hindutva ideologues went on condemning this loudly as human rights violation raises many question about their own commitment to the lives of people. We all know religious groups actually ‘compliment’ each other and hence the death of Savita has come handy to be used for the Hindutva protagonists in India though for all practical purposes they would never support Abortion laws.

It was therefore not strange when the BJP spokesperson condemned the incident in Dublin as a cold blooded murder and human rights violation. How easier it is for the fascists to call each other’s as fundamentalists without even thinking their own track record on the issue.

The death of Savita raises serious question about medical ethics and hope it will open up world-wide debate. Can a doctor refuse treatment to a patient if the latter does not belong to same religion, nationality or caste identity? Medical ethics say that doctors have to treat all the patient even if some of them may be absconding or needed for investigations. In fact some of the commentators in Ireland were so disturbed at refusal of treatment to Savita that they openly warned that Mixing of medicine with God could be dangerous. Let these issues be kept separate. It is ironical that a prolife argument does not want to talk about the rights of the mothers too. It is not just the question of an born child to be born but the right of a mother too to have good health and right to life.

Therefore, for doctor treatment is important and not fall fray to these debate whether God exists or not? Of course, for he is nowhere and is absolutely powerless as if He is omnipotent and do justice to all then such a situation would not have arrived and we would not have been moaning for the untimely death of Savita.

It is shame that the ‘believers’ have such great thoughts that justify killings of human being in the garb of religious values. Religion today flourished world-over using the science and technology like electronic media, medical sciences and schools. The Christian Missionaries also went around with these practices, starting their hospitals and schools in the poorest areas and we all lauded them for their missionary work but the fact is that they are really not doing this for ‘us’ but for their ‘God’.

The tragic reality is that people world over were killed in the name of God, Allah, and Bhagwan and still the religious rights want a ‘respectful’ place. People should now know how the religious right often uses their sentiment and emotion for their own purposes and have nothing new to offer except claiming miracles from ‘God’ despite the dirty fact that they need hospitals and medical science to carry on their sinister campaign.

Civilised society allows people their right to choose their life. They also offer medical option to men and women to decide about their body. Abortion is a right of a woman to protect her life and they would only use it in dire circumstances. Nobody would opt for an abortion in happy state of mind. It is her body and she has a right to secure herself first. There are circumstances when people are forced to do so. The problem with the religious rights is that they consider even the use of contraceptives wrong. One does not know whether they feel that man and woman marry just to create children in the name of God. It would be shocking to think that a man and woman marry just for the recreation and any sex without attempt to recreate is a sin as the church would like us to believe.

The whole stigma to ‘life’ come from the idea that sex is sin and must be used for ‘recreation’ purposes which is unacceptable for the modern human being who feel recreation or no recreations are individual choices and that state or religious rights have no right to intrude in our private matters. If sex is sin then why do we have rape cases by the religious priest’s world over among all the religion? Are our religious places safe for women? What is Devdasi system? In a simple language it is sex without responsibility and accountability by the priestly class. You want to have sex with women but do not want to own the child out of it? Have we seen any system with such great quality?

The question must be asked why should, ‘right and wrong’ be based on ‘religious’ morality in any secular society? The world is witnessed to massive killings in the name of religion and do not need to take a lesson from them about ‘love and affection’. It is important to ask a question whether a doctor is allowed to kill a person even if laws say so. If a national law violate international law, it is important that we must follow the international law on human rights. We all look forward to international mechanism when national laws fail. Hence it is desirable that the medical practitioners and their Organizations world over widely discuss the issue of medical ethics and formulate special guidelines so that such mishaps are not repeated.

Frankly speaking, this issue is of great importance and hence should not be confined to one particular religion and country. It affects all as religious leaders everywhere misguide people with their dangerous thoughts and are united in such vicious thoughts which take their ‘power’ from supernatural sources. Is not it a tragedy when they want to save a ‘life’ yet do not feel ashamed in killing another life? And shockingly all this happening when the world is moving and giving new ideas and when we all say sex is not just recreation but when it is proved that it is also a great stress relief and intimate moment with your partner. Secular democratic societies must not allow such religious moralities to intrude in our private space and play havoc with human life. Let us develop human rights laws based on modern principles and do not allow the religious moralist to decide on our fate which would be dangerous for any woman who fall in their trap anywhere.

Vidya Bhushan Rawat is a social and human rights activist. He blogs at www.manukhsi.blogspot.com twitter : freetohumanity skype : vbrawat Facebook : Vidya Bhushan Rawat [email protected]

 




 

 


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