The Kerala Catholic Bishops
Conference (KCBC) has come out with a press release about the stand of the
Church regarding abortions. I feel that it is only fair to mention it here in
relation to my post The
Savita case, a tragedy in Ireland
The statement, which I read
in a Malayalam newspaper, says that life is the gift of God. It has to be
protected. Destroying a live foetus amounts to murder. But if, in a genuine
attempt to save the life of a pregnant woman something adverse happens to the
foetus, it does not amount to killing. According to the KCBC’s understanding,
the law in Ireland
is more or less the same.
This means that in the Galway hospital the doctors should have tried to save the
mother. If, in that process, the foetus in her womb is hurt the doctors cannot
be blamed. But why then didn’t they try to save the mother?
The press release gives an
answer to this. Details regarding the ailment of a patient and the treatment
are to be kept secret. That is why the doctors have not come out with any
statement explaining the death of Savita. They can only present the details to
a duly constituted authority.
The KCBC also says that the
media reporting on the tragedy is based on hearsay. The reporters could not
have obtained any details from the hospital. The Health Minister of Ireland has
ordered an official enquiry.
In the meantime Savita’s
husband has demanded a public enquiry. Such things are common in India, but not
elsewhere.
I wonder why something that
happened on October 28(?) suddenly obtained wide publicity only a few days
back. One retired Catholic bishop in Kerala said in an article that British
business interests are behind the move. It doesn’t sound tenable. That country makes
quite a bit of money from the abortion sector. A good portion of the clients is
from Ireland.
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