Savita Halappanavar
A beautiful, 31 year old Indian dentist died in my country last month because there are no laws in place to regulate abortion. Savita was actually miscarrying when she entered the hospital, but because the foetus still had a heartbeat, Irish doctors were afraid to terminate the pregnancy. This woman was in agony for days, and only when the heartbeat of the foetus couldn’t be detected, was the foetus removed. It was too late for Savita. She died.
When I was about the same age as Savita, I also had a miscarriage. I was ten weeks pregnant when I noticed that I was leaking fluid. I called the doctor immediately and was sent in to have an ultrasound the following morning. I was informed that there was no sign of a foetus and I was scheduled to have a D&C within the next day or two.
I will never forget the shock of being told that the pregnancy had ended. I was devastated. This little being was going to be my little girl. I had made plans for us. They all ended on the trolley. My husband had just moved to another city with a new job…and I remember trudging up a hill to the college where I worked, and breaking down in front of a colleague. He was wonderful…thank you, Ken.
So the next thing was that I had to prepare myself for the D&C. I arrived into hospital full of fear. Hubby was there. I found myself on the operating table, and after an internal examination, the doctor declared that my cervix had not dilated. He told me he could not do a D&C because it might be construed as an abortion. He sent me home! So home I went, only to be rushed into hospital with haemorrhaging and acute pain a few days later. I eventually had the D&C.
I despise the morals of the Irish know-alls who inflict this sort of suffering on people.
Shame on you.
That is so awful, for both you and the lady who died. If the Dominionists (Christian Reconstructionists) ever manage to take political power in the US, that is what we will see here.
(((((Irishgirl))))))))) and to that poor young woman and every other woman who suffers needlessly just for being a woman. It makes me so angry.
{{{{Hugs}}}}} When a mother’s heart is broken, it will have a piece missing forever but always has a soft spot there. Men and religion are often hopeless when it comes to the heart of a mother.
My condolences. I feel your pain, I too miscarried at 10 weeks, that was over 15 years ago and it still breaks my heart. The way the republicans see it, all us women want to get pregnant just so we can have an abortion, we don’t, we just want to be able to make our own choices for our own reasons.
Hugs to you, too. It happened to me around 20 years ago and I still remember every detail vividly. I have cleaned it up quite a bit. It was awful and bloody. One never forgets the terror and the pain.
I will never forgive the stupid old grannies in Ireland who insist that abortion is illegal while at the same time, they put their own daughters in danger of death.
My heart breaks for Savita and her family.
Gee, I’m Scotch-Irish in descent (as 1/3 of the USA used to be); can I share your pain? I had a miscarriage in the ’80′s, but only 5 weeks or so; my doctor immediately gave me a D & C, even though he is quite religious. He also tied my tubes and noticed my liver was enlarged. I quickly had it tested and wrote him a thank-you note. It seems things were more sensible in the 80′s and nineties – I guess there are still things better about the USA; but things could have headed back toward your situation.
We surely dodged a bullet on Roe vs. Wade. Whew.
{{Hugs}} Irishgirl. There is no excuse for putting anyone through the pain and suffering you and Savita went through.
Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts and hugs. I just hope that Savita’s death will force the Irish government to do something about this so that it never, ever happens to anyone again.