Abortion: The Case Of Savita Halappanavar

Savita Halappanavar is one of many women whose deaths could have been avoided had she been granted the abortion she so desperately needed and requested. Doctors told her that it was impossible for the fetus to survive, and that Savita’s own survival was questionable. Still, Savita was denied an abortion, and as a result, neither Savita nor her potential child survived the pregnancy. This happens to millions of women every year who are denied the right to be liberated from an unviable fetus.

Discriminatory, raucous, tyrannical, all of these describe the disregard for the most basic of human rights: The right to control what happens to one’s own body. The disregard of this fundamental right seems to only be inflicted upon women who choose that

2). This syndrome supposedly entails mental consequences related to having an abortion. However, scientists have now concluded that there is no scientific evidence supporting this idea (Geier, par. 2). Kennedy failed to consider the consequences on the opposite side of the spectrum. What ramifications can a woman who was denied an abortion and forced to bear a child expect? Women have reported severe depression and suicidal thoughts and attempts. Researchers from the University of California in San Francisco have found that women who are denied abortions fare significantly less well than those who did receive abortions (Geier, par. 3). The same researchers concluded that women denied abortions are much more likely to need public financial assistance, and have a household income below poverty level. (Geier, par. 9). The American Psychological Association (APA) review found that severe negative psychological reactions to abortion are rare and that the vast majority of women experience a mixture of emotions after an abortion, with positive feelings predominating (NARAL

The legality of abortion represents a major milestone to be overcome in the ongoing fight towards gender equality. For abortion to be deemed illegal is to crush the chances of women ever being equal to men. 77% of anti-abortion leaders are male, but 100% of them will never be pregnant (Smith 3). Circumstantially, the need for abortion will never be understood by men considering their inability to be impregnated. If women are denied the right to abortion, they are also being denied the right to control what happens to their own bodies. Women should not be made into forced incubators, rather, pregnancy should be a