It is a very serious offence amongst followers of the Catholic Church
In 2012, an Indian dentist, Savita Halappanavar living in Ireland, suffered a miscarriage and repeatedly requested an abortion, which kept getting denied
Doctors did not consider her to be in ‘medical’ danger, which is a prerequisite to obtaining a legal abortion
The lady’s foetus’s heartbeat stopped, and she then continued having complications, ultimately dying from septicaemia
The case created ripples of discontent and anger amongst the local population and news of this story soon went viral, attracting condemnation worldwide and bad publicity for the Catholic Church
To mitigate the effects of this news and to quell the fierce condemnation of pro-choice groups, Pope Francis announced this week that obtaining abortions would be a pardonable offence, but for only a year
He stated that he was aware of the ‘pressure’ that certain women face, when aborting their unborn babies
The doctors and patients alike should be pardoned for this otherwise gross offence
Although Pope Francis has been a forward-thinking papal force, he doesn’t explain the time limit that has been enforced on this pardoning of abortions or clarify whether it has retrospective effect
Maybe this was a temporary measure taken to quell the growing cries of anger from human rights groups, but it’s difficult to comprehend what difference a year will actually make to women wanting abortions
Regardless of a woman’s decision to abort or not, it is unlikely that a year’s ‘guilt-free’ abortion will play a decisive role in her choice
This whole step seems to be an ill-thought out tactic to try and place the Catholic Church in a positive light amongst liberals
Similarly, in Pakistan, abortions are only allowed if a medical necessity arises otherwise it is very much an illegal act
There are many unqualified women who perform ‘backroom’ abortions for those who can’t afford good medical treatment or want the cloak of secrecy, but many women die from complications which arise from such sub-standard and, ultimately, dangerous procedures
It is still a taboo subject in a very conservative society like Pakistan, where the choice to reproduce is usually denied to women
Religious sentiments aside, it is considered selfish and unladylike for a woman to destroy human life, but difficulties can arise where a woman has been raped and becomes pregnant as a result of the act
Abortion may be the only solution for the unwanted foetus, but these are murky areas that religious authorities find uncomfortable in dealing with
In Morocco, when a girl became pregnant by her rapist, the authorities made her marry her rapist to legitimise the unborn foetus, which is simply repugnant and wholly unfair to the victim involved
Another difficulty lies in aborting a foetus that is revealed to have a disability in an ultrasound
The question arises that should a child with heavy disabilities be born or should it be aborted to prevent financial stresses to the parents? A frank discussion surrounding abortion is needed, especially for those women who really don’t want to rear numerous children or those who don’t wish to have a disabled child
Moral compasses can become skewed when difficult situations arise
Religion and abortions do not make a pretty mix, but the year of pardoned abortions by the Catholic Church goes some way in tackling the immense guilt and angst women who abort go through
Ultimately, it is a very difficult decision to make, but one which requires great deal of aforethought, mental fortitude and enough conviction of God’s forgiveness for the religious-minded
Date: | 05-Sep-2015 | Reference: | View Original Link |
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