An Indian woman’s tragic death in Ireland from blood poisoning after doctors refused to perform an abortion stating “this is a Catholic country” has once again brought to the fore discussion not only on abortion but also on the role of religion in running the various affairs of human society.
Savita Halappanavar, a dentist from Karnataka, was suffering a miscarriage and septicaemia at University Hospital Galway last month, reports said on November 14. She asked several times over a three-day period for medical termination of the pregnancy but her repeated request was rejected on religious grounds and eventually she died. Dublin has initiated two probes into the case and New Delhi has taken up the matter with the Irish government while netizens have protested this callousness on social networking sites. But the fact remains that no amount of probe or protest can compensate this human loss.
That Ireland has banned abortion is welcome, for a foetus with heartbeat has life; so it must be respected and honoured. On this respect to life in the darkness of womb rest the natural balance of sex ratio and thus the smooth functioning as well as survival of human family; hence ban on senseless and rampant abortion in a human society is justified and desirable. But the crime of hospital authorities in Ireland is that they followed this legal ban rather blindly, and that too citing Catholic concern. Here comes the role of religion in saving the life of a person.
There are umpteen religions – revealed and manmade – being practised and propagated in the world. If a religion is so rigid, callous and indifferent as to let a woman with flesh and blood breathe her last within the premises of a hospital, what would you say about it? That it does not care for human life and thus is imperfect and obsolete, the least to say.
The religions whose followers are called the People of the Book were also revealed religions, including Christianity and Judaism. But history bears witness that their respective followers, in due course of time, made certain modifications in and thus corrupted the Divine teachings to suit their whims and inconsistencies. Following such repeated corruption of the Divine teachings, the Lord, Creator and Master, revealed the final version of His Word in the form of the Qur’ān and resolved to protect it from any corruption till the Day of Judgement. The Qur’ān provides guidance for all human beings for all times and climes; thus Islam solves all human problems in a divinely ordained manner. It does prohibit abortion but in a case where the life of the expected mother is in danger, as was the given case of Dr. Savita, the elastic wisdom of Islam allows medical termination of pregnancy. It is for all, including Catholics and Protestants, pro-life and pro-choice groups, to think over the issue afresh in the light of divine guidance and save such tragic deaths.