Abortion - The Lives and Health of Women
Published: Monday, March 11, 2013
To mark International Women's Day, the National Women's Council of Ireland and Doctors for Choice co-hosted a joint seminar on March 5, 2013 that gave a voice to the majority of doctors in Ireland who support a pro-choice position. In the seminar, titled 'Abortion- the Lives and Health of Women in Ireland', Doctors for Choice members Dr. Mary Favier, Dr. Mark Murphy, and Dr. Peadar O'Grady spoke about their experiences as medical professionals treating women who require terminations of their pregnancies and Marge Berer, Editor of Reproductive Health Matters spoke about the implications of Catholic health policy for abortion and other reproductive care. The presenters agreed that abortion needs to be legalized in Ireland in order to protect women's health.
Dr. Mary Favier described experiences that she has had with pregnant patients who require an abortion and how difficult the trip to the UK is for them emotionally, mentally, physically, and financially particularly when they have to arrange travel in secret. The overwhelming silence around the issue of abortion belies the 4,000 Irish women who travel to England each year to terminate their pregnancy.
Dr. Mark Murphy conducted a survey of Irish GPs and found that the majority of GPs support abortion particularly when it is necessary to preserve the health of the mother. Dr. Murphy also believes that the focus of the debate about abortion has 'been grossly twisted away from the health of Irish women' whose health is suffering as a result.
Dr. Peadar O'Grady, psychiatrist, stated that 'when there is a choice of abortion services there is no increased risk of suicide or mental health problems in choosing an abortion'. In fact, restricting abortion raises the risk of suicide in pregnancy. Treatment for unwanted pregnancy is non-directive counselling which includes providing the woman the information she needs to make an informed decision about whether to continue with her pregnancy.
Marge Berer said that 'Religion must never trump necessary care and religious institutions should be allowed to provide specific forms of care only if they agree to do so without compromising patient safety'.
Presenations of the speaker
Dr Mary Favier – Doctors for Choice
X to ABC: Where to now for abortion in Ireland?
Dr Mark Murphy – Doctors for Choice
Dr Peadar O'Grady – Doctors for Choice.
Marge Berer – Editor, Reproductive Health Matters
Implications of Catholic Health Policy for Emergency Obstetric and other Reproductive Health Care