Prez passes abortion law
31 July 2013 11:43 PM GMT
Irish president on Tuesday signed a landmark bill on abortion into law, allowing women in the predominantly Catholic country to have an abortion in cases of fatal foetal abnormality, following the tragic death of an Indian dentist.
President Michael D Higgins signed into law the government’s Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill. The bill, overwhelmingly passed by both houses of parliament this month, permits abortions only in cases where doctors deem the woman’s life at risk from continued pregnancy.
The law comes in the wake of the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar, 31, on 28 October last year of blood poisoning as a result of a miscarriage. An inquest into her death earlier this year heard how she was repeatedly denied a potentially life-saving abortion. The new legislation, which replaces 146-year- old British era law, also permits abortions to alleviate life-threatening conditions, including a woman’s own threat to commit suicide if refused a termination.
Till recently, Ireland’s only legislation on abortion was a handed-down British law from 1867, outlawing the practice with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The new maximum sentence is 14 years. Higgins convened a meeting of the Council of State Monday to seek its advice on the bill, which he could have opted to send to the Supreme Court to test its constitutionality.
The meeting, chaired by the president, was attended by 21 members of the 24-strong council and lasted for some 3 hours, Irish Times reported. The 21 persons who attended, including seven members of the judiciary, still made it the biggest council since the Constitution came into effect in 1937.
President Michael D Higgins signed into law the government’s Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill. The bill, overwhelmingly passed by both houses of parliament this month, permits abortions only in cases where doctors deem the woman’s life at risk from continued pregnancy.
The law comes in the wake of the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar, 31, on 28 October last year of blood poisoning as a result of a miscarriage. An inquest into her death earlier this year heard how she was repeatedly denied a potentially life-saving abortion. The new legislation, which replaces 146-year- old British era law, also permits abortions to alleviate life-threatening conditions, including a woman’s own threat to commit suicide if refused a termination.
Till recently, Ireland’s only legislation on abortion was a handed-down British law from 1867, outlawing the practice with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The new maximum sentence is 14 years. Higgins convened a meeting of the Council of State Monday to seek its advice on the bill, which he could have opted to send to the Supreme Court to test its constitutionality.
The meeting, chaired by the president, was attended by 21 members of the 24-strong council and lasted for some 3 hours, Irish Times reported. The 21 persons who attended, including seven members of the judiciary, still made it the biggest council since the Constitution came into effect in 1937.
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