Infos – News – Nouvelles

Courriel au Premier Ministre irlandais, suite à un refus léthal d’avortement thérapeutique

To: Taoiseach Enda Kenny (Irish Prime Minister)

cc: Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore (Irish Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs)

E-mails:

taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie, enda.kenny@oireachtas.ie, eamon.gilmore@oir.ie

Copie à l’Ambassade d’Irlande; pour Bruxelles: www.dfa.ie/home/index.aspx?id=285

Death of Savita Halappanavar in Galway

Honourable Taoiseach,

We are writing to you to express our concern about the recent death of Savita Halappanavar, who was repeatedly denied an abortion in Galway. This tragic case demonstrates once again that the prohibition of abortion in Ireland is not just undermining the autonomy of the women across the country, it is leading to unacceptable suffering and even death.

Savita Halappanavar made repeated requests for an abortion after presenting at University Hospital Galway on 21 October while miscarrying during the 17th week of her pregnancy. Her requests were refused, and she died one week later after several days in agonising pain and distress.

The situation of Savita Halappanavar provides the clearest possible evidence that laws that permit abortion only to save the life of a woman, such as the Irish law, are clinically unworkable and ethically unacceptable. There are numerous clinical situations in which a serious risk posed to a pregnant woman’s health may become a risk to her life, and delaying emergency action only increases that risk. There is only one way to know if a woman’s life is at risk: wait until she has died. Medical practitioners must be empowered by law to intervene on the grounds of risk to life and health, rather than wait for a situation to deteriorate.

You will be aware that the European Court of Human Rights, as well as a number of United Nations human rights bodies, have called upon the Irish government to bring its abortion law in line with international human rights standards. Had these calls been heeded before now, the death of Savita Halappanavar would have been prevented.

With the death of Savita Halappanavar, Ireland joins the ranks of countries worldwide where abortion is denied to women and leads to their deaths.

We call on your government to take urgent and decisive steps to reform the legislation that led to the death of Savita Halappanavar. Until the Irish legal system is reformed the lives, health and autonomy of women across Ireland are in jeopardy.

Yours faithfully,

[SIGNATURE]

Octobre 2012

Julia Gillard, première femme chef du gouvernement dans l’histoire australienne, a publiquement dénoncé l’attitude plus qu’irrespectueuse envers les femmes du leader de l’opposition Tony Abbott, alignant quantité d’exemples sur sa «misogynie» et son «sexime», lors d’une tirade de 15 minutes devant le parlement.

Son discours, abondamment commenté dans la presse et sur internet, bien au-delà des frontières australiennes, a poussé mercredi les éditeurs d’un grand dictionnaire à revoir la définition du terme «misogynie». La définition actuelle contenue dans le dictionnaire australien Macquarie indique que la misogynie signifie «haine pathologique des femmes». «La misogynie signifiait strictement la haine des femmes, mais on a sans doute besoin désormais d’une deuxième définition pour couvrir également « les préjugés bien ancrés contre les femmes », et pas seulement une horreur viscérale des femmes», a déclaré Sue Butler, l’éditrice du dictionnaire, au magazine The Australien Financial Review. «Nous devons ajouter une deuxième définition, pour désigner quelque chose qui est un peu plus fort que le sexime», a-t-elle ajouté.

La vidéo ci-dessous reprend une partie du désormais célèbre discours de la première femme Premier Ministre d’Australie.

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